|
Of all the festivals celebrated in India, Deepawali is by far
the most glamorous and important.
Enthusiastically enjoyed by
people of every region, its magical and radiant touch creates
an atmosphere
of joy and festivity. Diwali or Deepavali means
an Array of Lamps i.e .Rows of diyas (Deep = Lamp, Vali
=Array).
It is celebrated 20 days after Dussehra, in the Tamil month of “Aipasi”,
'naraka chaturdasi' thithi, (falls
in the months of
October/November) preceeding “amavasai”. It is a
festival of lights symbolizing the
victory of righteousness and the lifting of spiritual darkness.
It celebrates the victory of good over evil . |
Puranas have it that Narakasura, son of
Bhudevi, acquired immense power from a blessing given by
Lord Brahma
after a severe penance. Under his rule, the people suffered a lot of
hardship . The demon
King did not even spare the ‘Devas’
and subjected them to indescribable torture and insults. Unable to
bear
the tyranny of the demon, the celestial beings pleaded with Lord
Krishna to save them from his torture. But
Naraka had a boon that he
would face death only at the hands of his mother Bhudevi.
So, Lord Krishna
asks his wife Sathyabhama,
the reincarnation
of Bhudevi, to be his charioteer in the battle with Naraka.
When Lord Krishna fell unconscious after being hit by an arrow of
Naraka, Sathyabhama takes the bow and
aims the arrow at Narakasura,
killing him instantly. The “Narakasura Vadhai” by Sathyabhama could also
be taken to interpret that parents should not hesitate to punish their
children when they step in to the wrong
path.
The message of “Naraka Chaturdashi” is that the good of the
society should always prevail over one's own
personal bonds.. Later Lord
Krishna reminds her of the boon she had sought as Bhudevi.It is
interesting to
note that Bhudevi, mother of the slain demon
Narakasura, declared that his death should not be a day of
mourning
but an occasion to celebrate and rejoice. It is believed Lord Krishna
himself had an oil bath to rid
himself off the blood spattered on his
body when Naraka was killed.
The tradition is followed and people offer prayers on the previous day
of the Naraka Chaturdashi to the
vessel and apply sandal-paste and kumkum on the sides of the
vessel in which water is being heated,
for having bath.
Another view is that Deepawali is meant to celebrate the destruction of
the arrogant tyrant Bali at the hands
of Vishnu when the latter appeared
in his Vamana (dwarf) avatar.
Deepavali celebrations begins very early in the morning, when it is
still dark. The eldest family member
applies sesame oil on the heads of
all the family members. Then, every member, beginning with the
youngest
in the family, takes hot water bath (known as “Ganga-snan”), a custom
arising from a belief
that having an oil bath in the morning on the day
of diwali is equivalent to taking bath in the Ganges.
The house
is cleaned and decorated with
kolam
(rangoli) . "Maa-ilai (Mango-leaf) Thoranams" and
"flowers
thoranams" are made and tied to the Main Doors of the house,
Pooja-Rooms etc.
Following Sweets and savories are the favourite ones for the
Deepawali festival, in most of our families :-
1. WHEAT HALWA.
2. THIRATTU-PAL (MILK CAKE).
3. ADHIRASAM.
4. MASALA/MEDHU VADAI.
5. BAJJI (BANANA,ONION,POTATO ETC.).
6. THAENKUZHAL.
7. POLI (COCONUT OR CHANNADAL FILLINGS).
8. SOOYEM.
9. MYSORE BONDA.
10. UTKORAI.
11. BURFI.
12.CHEENI URUNDAI (ROASTED-CHANNA LADDU).
13. THADIANGKAI (WHITE PUMPKIN) HALWA.
14. CAROT/BEET-ROOT HALWA.
15. DEEPAWALI - LAHIYAM.
(Detailed, step-by-step, Preparation methods (Recipes) of these dishes
are given, in “Our Community f
Favourite Dishes Recipe” section of
Thondai-mandala Mudaliars, web site’s home page.).
Above specially prepared Sweets and Savories are decoratively placed
in Plates/trays and offered to the
Gods, during Pooja. New dresses,
symbolically applied with little Turmeric paste along with betel
-leaves,
betel -nuts, various fruits, flowers, sandal paste, kumkum,
turmeric powder etc. are also kept in Trays and
offered for prayers. Kuththu vizhakku (silver/brass lamps) is lit in the pooja
room. All the family members,
led by the eldest lady member of the Family offer prayers to the Gods
for prosperity and happiness of the
entire family during the coming year.
During Prayers (Aarthi), Bhajans and devotional songs are
jointly sung by all family members. (Devotional
songs by great Tamil
poets are available for ready reference and for reciting in our “Thuthi Paadalgal”
section of our web-site’s Home-Page).
After the Pooja, the eldest couple bless all the family members
and handover the new dress to each one of
them. All the members, clad in their new dress, reassemble back
and enjoy eating above sweets and savories.
It is mandatory for all the members to take few spoons of
“Deepawali-Lahiyam” to take care of digestive
problem in view of large intake of sweets and savories prepared in Ghee
and oil, at one time !
It is a very special festival for the Newly-wed young couples. This
is called as “Thalai-Deepawali”. In
our Community, Parents of Girls
offer New Dresses, usually Pure-silk Sarees and Dothis, to the young
couple with variety of Deepawali-sweets and savories. It is customary,
in some families, to celebrate the
“thalai-Deepavali” in Father-in-law’s house.
Usually a vast range of crackers and Sparklers are bought, with costs
running into thousands of rupees.
Immediately after the Pooja, Crackers
are burst by all the members.
Above offered Sweets and savories with Vermilion(kumkum), Vibhuthi ,
turmeric powder are given to our
neighbours, friends and
relatives. Since every family including relatives, neighbours and
friends offer
sweets to others families, it is virtually an “Exchange-Mela” of
Sweets on this happy occasion, with
each family having plenty and variety of sweets to eat for very
many days !.
On the
Deepawali evening also, Kuththu Vizhakku is lit and Pooja is offered and
Crackers and Sparklers
are burst by all family members. Bursting
of crackers and lighting
of sparklers and fireworks, symbolizes
burning of effigy of Narakasura
who was killed on this day, by Lord Krishna.
Link for
Communication
|