The festival of Holi celebrated over two days in the month of Phalguna is a celebration of the arrival of spring, a final declaration of the end of winters.
Spring is also considered the season of love. Holi is a festival that reminds you, and it is a time to forget and forgive, to start afresh. Holi is a symbolic representation of good winning over evil.
TWO DAYS OF HOLI.
In most places, people celebrate Holi over two days.
Choti Holi / Holika Dahan takes places in the evening of the full moon day of Phalguna. And, Badi Holi, also called Holi / Dhuleti / Dhulandi / Phagwah / Rangwali Holi the next day.
HOLIKA DAHAN.
It seems Holika Dahan or Choti Holi is a later addition to the festival. And the story behind Holika Dahan is about the Vishnu Bhakt Prahalad and his father, the demon king Hirankashyipu. Prahalad was a bhakt (follower) of lord Vishnu. King Hirankashyipu wanted every citizen to treat him as a god and worship him instead of other gods. Prahalad did not obey the orders and continued worshipping Vishnu.
Hirankashyipu tried many ways to convince Prahalad. But, when nothing worked to set an example for the rest of the citizens, he even tried to kill Prahlad.
Finally, he chose to burn Prahalad. His sister and King Hirankashyipu daughter, demon princess Holika had a boon; fire could not harm her. So, the king asked her to stand with Prahlad on a large fire set for the act. The idea was that Prahalad would burn in the fire, and nothing will happen to Holika. The demon princess loved her brother but could do nothing before her father. Kind Hirankashyipu, taunted Prahalad- Now, let us see who saves you.
Holika stood in the fire, praying for Prahalad’s safety. Surprise, nothing happens to Prahalad and Holika was burnt to death. In many places, the act of demon princess Holika burning is symbolically represented by placing the statue of Holika holding her brother Prahlad on the wooden logs. Prahlad’s figure is taken out before the fire is lit. People sing and dance around the fire celebrating life and goodness. Holi is celebrated the next day.
LORD VISHNU NARSIMHA AVATAR.
Later on, Lord Vishnu took the form of Narasimha Avatar to kill demon king Hirankashyipu. The avatar was a unique creation to fulfil the conditions of the boon to Hirankashyipu.
The Narasimha avatar was half human and half lion ( neither a human nor an animal), emerging out of the pillar at dusk (neither day nor night), holding Hirankashyipu at the palace doorstep (neither indoors nor outdoors), and placing him on the lap (neither land, water nor air). Narasimha then killed the king with his lion claws (neither a handheld weapon, Ashtra or a launched weapon, shastra).
THE PRAHLADPURI HOLI MANDIR.
It is said that Holi originated from Multan Bharat, now a part of Pakistan, where the last ruins of the ancient Prahladpuri Temple still exist. It was destroyed by a Jihadi mob in 1992.
The name Multan’s has Sanskrit origin. Mula Sthana, it means the ‘original abode’. Multan is said to have been founded by Kasyap, father of Hiranyakashipu, after whom it was named Kasyapapur – and Prahlad was the sun of Hiranya Kasyap.
Prahladpuri Temple is associated with Holika Dahan- celebrated a day before Holi. It is said that Prahlad, son of Hiranyakashipu, built the temple in honour of the Narsingh Avatar of Lord Vishnu (A half human and half lion form). Narsingh emerged from the pillar to save Prahlad and kill Hiranyakashipu. Remember, Hiranyakashipu was blessed with a boon. He could not be killed by a Man or Animal, not by Astra or Shastra and neither on land nor in Aakash.
Prahladpuri temple details contributed bt R Sahai- a cousin to my dear friend Ajay K Lal- who forwarded the contribution.
THE FESTIVAL OF COLOURS.
Earlier, people played Holi with both wet and dry colours (Gulal). With awareness of water pollution and the need to save water, people now play Holi with dry colours. The kids still use water guns (pitchakri) and balloons filled with water; their usage is dropping with years.
Holi is played by smearing and showering Gulal, a bright, colourful powder, on family and friends. In many places, Holi is also an excuse to drink Bhang- a drink made from cannabis. In many cities and towns, people drink thandai with Bhang and eat Bhang waali kulfi.
KRISHNA AND FESTIVAL OF COLOURS.
In the area near Mathura and Vrindavan, specially Braj, Holi is a five-day celebration. In central India, mainly Malwa, the fifth day known as Rang Panchami is a bigger festival than Holi.
Here is Holi legend with Krishna; he was dark-skinned and is represented as blue coloured skin. He got this skin colour by drinking poisoned milk from the she-demon Putana’s breast.
When through celestial announcement (Akashwani), King Kansa realised that despite all his efforts, the eighth born of his sister Devaki is still alive, he sent Putana to the Brij area to kill all the babies. Putana breastfed poisoned milk to babies. When she breastfed Krishna, he sucked her milk to death, but the poison that came with it turned him blue.
Radha was fair-skinned. Krishna was unsure if she would like him with his darker skin. His mother, Yashoda, suggested him to ask Radha to colour his skin in any colour she wants. The celebration is now represented with the playful colouring of faces by smearing Gulal.
Kamadev and Rati. Shiva and Parvati story.
Once, lord shiva was in deep meditation. Goddess Parvati wanted to break his meditation and bring Lord Shiva back into the materialistic world so that she could marry him. She sought help from Kamadeva, the god of love. On Vasant Panchami, Kamadeva showered Shiva with his love arrows, and the meditative stage was broken. Shiva opened his third eye, which fell on Kamadeva and burnt him to ashes. Goddess Parvati and Rati, the wife of Kamadeva, were upset with the turn of events.
Rati then did a forty-day Samadhi praying to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is pleased, and he forgives Kamadeva. The lord of love returns to life. Hence Holi is also known as the festival of love. It is thus celebrated on the 40th day after Vasant Panchami.
BHANG. SHIVA & HOLI.
Now, we all know that Lord Shiva consumed the poison that came from Samudra Manthan. But, it is said that when nectar came from the same manthan, a drop of it fell on earth, and the cannabis plant was born of it. After Shiva drank the poison and held it in his throat, he felt the heat. Deva’s, meanwhile, became anxious with the development.
And here is what they did, offered the drink made of cannabis leaves to Lord Shiva and consumed the same. That is how Bhang got associated with Shiva, and now, to elevate the mood and enjoy the colourful Holi, it became a part of the celebration.
Technically in India, cannabis is banned. Now here is the exciting part. The 1985 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act lists cannabis as a narcotic drug, prohibiting its cultivation, possession, consumption or transportation. It only lists some parts of the cannabis plant as narcotic, like its bud and resin. It conveniently omits the leaves, the part of the plant used to make Bhang.
Further, while the plant’s cultivation can get you up to 10 years, there is no punishment for harvesting the plant growing in the wild. In one such case, Arjun Singh v The State of Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that it’s legal to consume cannabis leaves, but it is illegal to grow the plant. There you are. Leaves are okay. So is Bhang Goli that we get in the north part of India.
LATHMAAR BARSANA HOLI.
The lath maar Holi of Barsana is now a tourist celebration. According to the story, Lord Krishna was Nandagon-based, and Barsana was the town of his beloved Radha. Once during Holi, Krishna visited Barsana with his friends, and they teased Radha and her friends. ( link it to the Krishna colour and Holi story above ). Radha and friends drove Krishna and friends out of Barsana, beating them with Lath. And the Lath maar Holi is the re-enacting of the scene. Barsana Holi is played before the Holi dates. The young man from Nandgaon visit Barsana and the women of Barsana beat them with sticks. The young men protect and save themselves.
MASANE KI HOLI.
Masane ki Holi. Played with the ashes of the burning pyres from the crimination ground with the cry of Har Har Mahadev. Maybe the only place in the world, where Holi is played with the ash from burning pyre. On Ekadashi, the shiva devotees play Gulal Holi and the day after Ekadashi, Masane ki Holi is celebrated at the Manikarnika ghat with the pooja of baba Mashannath. It is believed that Baba Vishwanath- Shiva has stopped his favourites Gana, Bhoot, Pichash, tangible and intangible, visible and invisible powers to participate and play Holi with colour with the people. And hence the next day, he visits the Manikarnika ghat to play the pyre ashes Holi with them. more details and pictures here. addition by a dear friend and regular reader of #IgnorantHindu Praful Mishra
BANKE BIHARI MANDIR HOLI.
Vrindavan Banke-Bihari Temple Holi festivity is well known and legendary. Here Holi is played in its traditional way using Gulal and water. The temple priests ( Goswami) sprinkles colour on devotees with the devotional bhajans in the background. It is said to be a trance-like situation, and the devotees dance carefreely.
INDOREI RANG PANCHAMI.
Phag yatra is carried out on rang Panchami. It starts at the Bada Ganpati and moves to Rajwada via Malharganj. People sing and dance and play with Gulal. It is a large crowd event. And a better thing is that the whole area is cleaned so well after Rang Panchami that it is tough to believe the Holi celebration even took place. No doubt, Indore continues to be the cleanest city for the fourth year. How big is the festival- see the picture below from the Government of India, district Indore site.
RANGPASHI – THE KAYAST AND MATHUR PRE-HOLI CELEBRATION
‘Rang Pashi’ heralds the onset of ‘Holi’ festivities and is celebrated before Holi- the festival of colours. Families, friends, relatives get together, socialise and perform the formal sprinkling of colour. Rang Pashi is celebrated with great fervour in Kayast families in general and Mathurs in particular,
The family priest or any senior male member present is invited to take the lead and initiate the celebration. On Rang Pashi’ thalis’-(circular metallic plates) filled with scented, coloured powder (Gulal) and small vessels with coloured water are placed. The eldest male member sprinkles coloured water and apples Gulal on each person’s face, and the younger ones reciprocate. They joyfully hug each other.
The juniors solicit blessings of elders by touching their feet – a unique way of greeting and sharing affection. Married ladies are gifted dress material, usually a Sari (Dandiya) by their maternal family. Husbands too get a gift or some cash(Pyala) from their wife’s maternal family.
Delicious and mostly traditional food items are prepared in lovingly served. Varieties of snacks like Gujiya, Papri, Kanji Vade, Dhai Bhale and other spicy dishes are served. It is usually followed by a sumptuous lunch or dinner.
Earlier, serving alcoholic drinks on occasion was almost a tradition; however, it is not mandatory nowadays and is often dispensed. Earlier, one glass of alcoholic drink was passed from one person to other after taking a sip.
Rang Pashi is an occasion when everyone in the family comes together and enjoys pre-Holi with love and respect. Ladies and girls usually sing traditional Holi songs tinged with taunts and humour. It is also a social occasion to show their dance and musical talent. In the case of newlyweds, the families organise and celebrate Rang Pashi in a big way.
Addition on RANG PASHI contributed by R Sahai- a cousin to my dear friend Ajay K Lal- who forwarded the contribution.
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PROJECT IGNORANT HINDU
#IgnorantHindu is a project where I collate and share information on Hindu festivals – practices and rituals – about- Hindu Gods, episodes and incidents. Some of the festivals and episodes covered are RakshaBandhan, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Antim Sanskar, Yama- the lord of death, Baishakhi and Bihu, Holi, Makar Sankranti, Assthmangal Prasanam- the way of predicting future, Rahu-Ketu– the shadow planets, the 12 houses of horoscope, MaaNarmadaParikrama, Mahashivratri, BhaiDooj, Navratri, Diwali, Dhanteras, Karva Chauth, Dussehra or Vijyadashmi, Ram Navami, Adhik Mass– the Hindu leap year and Shradh And Pitra Shradh.
