Also known as: Deepavali, Lakshmi Puja, Festival of Lights, Kali Puja (Bengal), Bandi Chhor Divas · Observed: Across India and the Indian diaspora
Significance of Diwali
Diwali, from the Sanskrit Deepavali meaning a row of lamps, is the most widely celebrated festival in India and among Indian communities across the world. On the darkest night of the lunar month, homes, temples and streets are lit with oil lamps, candles and electric lights, symbolising the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil. The central ritual is Lakshmi Puja, the worship of the goddess of wealth and prosperity, who is believed to visit clean, well-lit homes on this night.
Diwali stands at the centre of a five-day festival: Dhanteras, Naraka Chaturdashi, Lakshmi Puja, Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj. For many business communities it is also the beginning of the new financial year.
Legends Behind the Festival
The best-known story is Lord Rama's return to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile and his victory over Ravana. The people of Ayodhya lit rows of lamps to welcome Rama, Sita and Lakshmana home on the new moon night. Another tradition holds that Goddess Lakshmi emerged from the churning of the ocean of milk on this Amavasya and chose Vishnu as her consort. In Bengal, Odisha and Assam, the night is devoted to Kali Puja, the worship of the fierce goddess who destroys evil.
For Jains, Diwali marks the nirvana of Lord Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara, at Pavapuri. Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas, commemorating the release of Guru Hargobind from Gwalior fort, and the Golden Temple at Amritsar is brilliantly illuminated.
How Diwali Is Celebrated
In the days before Diwali, houses are cleaned, repaired and decorated with torans and rangoli. On the evening of Amavasya, families wear new clothes and perform Lakshmi Puja, usually together with Ganesha, Kubera and Saraswati, placing coins, account books, jewellery and new grain before the goddess. Lamps are lit on every window sill, doorstep and balcony, and fireworks follow. Merchants in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra perform Chopda Pujan, worshipping new account books. Families exchange sweets and gifts with relatives, neighbours and friends.
Sweets and snacks are central: laddu, kaju katli, gulab jamun, barfi, chakli, karanji, shankarpali, chivda and many regional specialities. In Maharashtra the day is followed by Diwali Padwa, in Gujarat by the New Year, Bestu Varas, and in the South the main celebration usually takes place on the Naraka Chaturdashi morning.
How the Date Is Determined
Diwali Lakshmi Puja falls on the Amavasya, the new moon, at the end of Ashwin in the amanta calendar, which is called Kartika Amavasya in the purnimanta calendar of North India. The puja is performed during pradosha, the period after sunset, so the festival is fixed on the day when Amavasya prevails in the pradosha time. If Amavasya covers pradosha on two days, almanacs follow additional rules, and some regions prefer the day on which Amavasya prevails at midnight for Kali Puja. Within pradosha, a sthira lagna, especially Vrishabha (Taurus) rising, is considered most auspicious for Lakshmi Puja.
Rituals and customs
- Cleaning and decorating the home with rangoli and torans
- Lakshmi and Ganesha puja in the pradosha period
- Lighting rows of oil lamps
- Chopda Pujan of account books by traders
- Exchanging sweets and gifts
- Kali Puja at night in Bengal and Odisha