Holi has long traditional links with several legends. According to one popular legend, the word Holi is derived from the demoness, Holika. She was the sister of Hiranyakashyap, a demon king, who having defeated the Gods, proclaimed his own supremacy over everyone else in the Universe. Enraged over his son, Pralhad's ardent devotion to Lord Vishnu, Hiranyakashyap decides to punish him. He takes the help of his sister, Holika, who is immune to any damage from fire. Holika carries Prahlad into the fire but a divine intervention destroys her and saves Prahlad from getting burned. Thus Holi is celebrated to mark the burning of the evil Holika. It is a celebration of the triumph of good over evil.
On the full moon day of the month of Phalgun the feast of Holika Dahan is celebrated. According to the Puranas and the Bhagavat, uncle Kansa, in an attempt to kill the boy Krishna, sent Putna, a female demon, with the hope that he would drink her poisonous milk. But Krishna drank the milk, and also sucked Putna's blood. Thus he digested the poison and Putna died. During the night of Holi a big fire is lit in which Putna is burnt.
According to another story, Dhundha, the witch, or female demon, used to harass small children. By lighting big fires it is believed that she gets frightened and is driven out of the village. Today the custom goes on of making big bonfires in every lane of cities and villages. This feast is also known as "kamdahan" (the burning of lust), or "Madandahan" (the burning of Madan). As the story goes, in order to destroy the demon Tarkasur, the gods thought that only the son of Shankar would have the needed power. But Shankar was lost in meditation, not at all interested in marriage or sexual pleasure. As Shankar was deeply engrossed in his penance, the gods sent Madan to tempt him. Madan tried to draw Shankar's attention towards Parvati. Then Shankar became angry and opening his third eye on his forehead, he cast a fiery look on Madan and reduced him to ashes. |
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