Diwali or Deepavali, the festival of lights
It symbolises the spiritual "victory of light
over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance". There are several legends associated with the celebration of Diwali.
The Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi Mata incarnated on the new moon day (Amavasya) of the Kartik month during the churning of the ocean (Samudra Manthan), hence the association of Diwali with Lakshmi.
On this day, Bhagwan Vishnu in his fifth
incarnation as Vaman Avtara rescued Lakshmi Mata from the prison of King Bali
and this is another reason for worshipping Lakshmi Mata on Diwali.
On
the day preceding Diwali, Shri Krishna with the help of his wife Satyabhama, killed
the demon king Narakasur and rescued 16,100 women from his captivity. The
celebration of this freedom went on for two days including the Diwali day as a
victory festival.
According to Mahabharata, it was Kartik
Amavasya when the Pandavas appeared from their 12 years of banishment as a
result of their defeat in the hands of the Kauravas at the game of dice (gambling).
The people of Hastinapur who loved the Pandavas celebrated the day by lighting
the earthen lamps.
According
to Ramayana, it was the new moon day of Kartik when Shri Ram, Sita and Lakshman
returned to Ayodhya after vanquishing Ravana and conquering Lanka. The citizens
of Ayodhya decorated the entire city with the earthen lamps and illuminated it
like never before.
