Article: Deepaavali
MAY DEEPAAVALI BRIGHTEN OUR HEARTS WITH NOBLE QUALITIES!
prepared by Dr.K.Thilagawathi
When do we celebrate Deepaavali?
If one glances through the pages of the Tamil calendar (panjaanggam), one can realize that each of the twelve months display, at least, one or two auspicious days. Most of these auspicious days are celebrated elaborately in temples besides homes; amongst these auspicious days, three of them seem to have gained acknowledged at the national level in the Malaysian context. They are Thaipponggal, Thaippoosam and Deepaavali. Thaipponggal, which is observed to acknowledge the pertinent role played by the natural agents like sun, rain, etc., in our well-being, is gradually drawing the interest of other races, thus evolving into a festival of goodwill. Thaippoosam has long been a religious and spiritual festival, drawing millions of people from within and without Malaysia.
Deepaavali has its unique status in having been declared as a national public holiday for the past so many years! Accordingly, Deepaavali fulfills its role as a day of social interaction, merrymaking and goodwill amongst the various races of our country.
Deepaavali is celebrated in the Tamil month of Aippasi (mid-October to mid-November), on the day when the sadhurtthasi thithi (the fourteenth phase) of the waning moon (thaeypira) is present in the early morning hours, when we are supposed to take our oil bath. It is of interest to note that Deepaavali is also referred to as Naraka Sadhurtthasai, following the ‘thithi’ on which it is celebrated. The word ‘Deepaavali’ consists of two words, namely, ‘deepam’ (lamp/light) and ‘aavali’ (row); hence, Deepaavali means ‘row of lights’. The South Indian, specially the Tamil Hindus, do not give the due emphasis to lights while celebrating Deepaavali; the North Indian Hindus do. In South India, lighting of small earthen lamps and placing them in the stragetic parts of one’s home is celebrated as ‘Kaartthihai Vilakkeedu’ in the Tamil month of Kaartthihai (mid-November to mid-December).
Why do we celebrate Deepaavali?
The star and zodiac on a particular day may be strategically placed, that it may be very beneficial to have special prayers and relish with our dear ones on that day; but it is not easy to explain such technical informations to one and all. In his book, “Saiva rituals in the light of Saiva Siddhantha (Tamil)”, M. Kandiah says that the 27 asterisms have connections with the moon as it goes one complete circuit through the twelve zodiacal signs. Among these 27 asterisms, some gain special excellence in some particular zodiacal signs, due to the influence of the sun, which travels through the 12 zodiacs, at the rate of one zodiac per month. Likewise, certain thithis gain excellence from the influence of the sun, depending on the position of the moon relative to the sun on a particular Tamil month. Special prayers and fasts are more beneficial when observed on the days when a particular thithi or asterism is at their excellence due to their position relative to the sun and the moon.
Therefore, the best alternative was to give the puraanic story associated with it; nevertheless, the puraanic stories play a significant role in illustrating and illuminating religious philosophies and moral values, meant to be conveyed by the relevant episodes. The festive days gain their auspiciousness because of the auspicious occurrences related to the noble people or the deities, in the puraanic episodes.
Are puraanic stories true history? Basing on the fact that researchers are able identify the locations of the incidents which are found in epics like Mahabaratha and Ramayana, and other Puraanaas, we have to be wary in giving a definite answer.
Let us briefly refresh our memory with the story which is generally associated with Deepaavali.
In the distant past, there lived Narakaasuran in the town of Prakjothipuram. He did prayers with stringent penance toward Lord Brama and attained a lot of boons from the Lord. Consequently, Narakaasuran conquered this world and the underworld, and was cruel toward the inhabitants. He waged war against the celestial king, Indra. Indra was defeated and his mother’s ear-rings were taken away. The sages and devas beseeched Lord Krishna’s help.
Lord Krishna went along with Sathyabama and fought Narakaasuran. At one time, Lord Krishna had to rest for a while. On seeing this, Sathyabama fought Narakaasuran, and after a while Lord Krishna continued to fight and sent His discus (chakkaram), which beheaded Narakaasuran. As he was dying, Narakaasuran, repenting for all his terrible deeds, requested Lord Krishna that people should celebrate the day of his death, by having oil-bath and wearing new clothes He also wanted them to pray to Lord Krishna, serve food for one or more sages and merry-make by visiting friends and relatives, eating palatable meals and tidbits. He also requested that people should brighten the place with lights. The people were deprived of all these during the reign of Narakaasuran. Hence, we celebrate Deepaavali the way Narakaasuran wanted it to be.
There are quite a few other puraanic stories related to Deepaavali. We shall see how the North Indians perceive and observe the Deepaavali Fesstival. North Indian Hindus, too, relate Deepaavali to the killing of Narakaasuran by Lord Krishna and Sathyabaama; as Sathyabama showed her valour in the battle against Narakaasuran, the North Indians also have special prayers to Veeralakshmi (the Brave Lakshmi).
The North Indians more fondly celebrate Deepaavali as the day of return of Rama, Seetha and Lakshmana from their fourteen years of stay in the forest and after defeating the demon king Ravana. It is said that the people light the small earthen lamps within and without their houses as a feature of welcoming Rama back home.
The North Indians celebrate Deepaavali for five days starting with the thirteenth thithi of the waning moon; as such they connect quite a few stories relating to Lord Vishnu to these celebrations.
According to researchers in the field of History, Chandragupta Vikkiramaadhitthan ascended the throne on the new moon day of the month of Aippasi to perpetuate Dharma and that day is considered the first day of the era of Vikkirama (Vikkirama sahaaptham). The day after Deepaavali is considered as the (business) new year by the North Indians, and they have the tradition of conducting Lakshmi Poojaa and opening new accounts on this day.
The Celebration of Deepaavali
While looking at the story of Narakaasuran, his last request was seen briefly. His request forms a brief outline of the procedure of Deepaavali celebrations. To add to the details of Narakaasuran’s request given above, after the oil bath, people wear new clothes and pray together at their home altar as a family. Following this, they go to temple and offer their thanks and prayers to God. On returning home, they visit their parents and get their blessings. As the religious commitment is fulfilled, people spend the rest of the day welcoming their friends and relatives.
Some interesting notes on Deepaavali in the context of Tamil Nadu
Let us see some interesting aspects of Deepaavali celebrations in Tamil Nadu.
In the context of Tamil Nadu, on the day before the Deepaavali, the bath tub is cleaned; its outside wall is white-washed and motifs of the sun and moon are drawn on it; kunggumam is also applied. The stove is cleaned. The water is to be filled in the tub before the sunset of Deepaavali eve. Following this, special meal is cooked. It is to be noted that in Malaysia, Hindus who have come from Tami Nadu, have special prayers and offer specially cooked food to the departed souls in the night of Deepaavali eve.
The early morning bath is auspicious; it is said that on the day of Deepaavali Devi Lakshmi is present in the sesame oil (gingelly oil) and Devi Ganga is present in the water.
One more interesting ritual! On the eve of Deepaavali, a medicinal paste is made with some herbs, which had been dried earlier; they are pounded into a paste with the addition of water. Dried ginger, black pepper, cumin (seeraham), long pepper (thippili), omam (carom seed or bishop’s weed), karaambu/lavanggam (clove), aelakkaay (cardamom), sittharatthai and paranggichakkai (chips of pumpkin) are used to make the herbal paste. If all are not available, the paste is made with those which are available. As for the measurement, black pepper and long pepper are added in equal amounts. The weight of each of the other herbs will be that of the combined weight of both the peppers. Jaggery (vellam) is added to the paste; jaggery and the paste will be in equal amounts. Ghee and honey are added when the paste is mildly cooked in a frying-pan. This herbal preparation (laehiyam) is said to be good for stomach upsets. This shows that our Hindus were alert in taking safety measures as they were getting prepared to celebrate Deepaavali with delicious meals and tidbits. They had put the valuable advice, ‘prevention is better than cure’ in practice. Preparation of the ‘laehiyam’ has been considered as an important part of the Deepaavali celebrations. Nowadays, we rarely hear of it.
Having had a relatively comprehensive view about Deepaavali, what useful messages do we get from it?
The Significant Message of Deepaavali
During Navaraatthiri celebrations, we hear of the destruction of a demon, Mahishaasuran, by Devi. During the Kantha Sashti festival, which follows almost immediately after Deepaavali, we hear of the destruction of Soorpanman and his siblings by Lord Muruhan. These three fasts seem to have almost the same reason! The underlying message is that the tussle between the good and bad is an ongoing process. It is constantly taking place in our minds. When we are in the company of good persons and great sages, we want to be good; but when we are affected by wicked people, our negative qualities are put to test. When we are confronted by unfair people, it is a challenge for us to refrain ourselves from becoming irritated and angry; in such a mental state, we would find it tough not to scold and curse the corresponding person.
It the puraanic stories, we see that initially, the celestials try fighting with the demons; when they get defeated by the demons, and get ill-treated by the latter, the former will go to the Almighty and fully surrender onto His feet for their salvation. This is what we should do, too. If we want to improve for the better and lead an overall successful life by God’s grace, we should make it as a part our prayer to ask God to make us genuinely good people, truly deserving His grace and guidance. Continued true prayers will be answered with the passage of time.
It is to be realized that Deepaavali is basically a religious festival meant to show our gratitude to Lord Krishna; but Narakaasuran’s request enjoins enjoyment and merry-making. Hence, let us celebrate Deepaavali in compliance with both these requisites. One effective way of showing our gratitude to God is to do what we can to bring happiness in the life of the unfortunate people. Giving the less fortunate clothes, food, sweets, etc., brings happiness to them; but they will be inspired with assurance, if we show love and care to them. As we show such kind gestures, we should pray to God that we should maintain this noble spirit throughout our lives. Such kind acts and prayers will light peoples’ hearts as well as ours with happiness and hope, thus bringing fulfillment to the true meaning of Deepaavali!
