Diwali 2014

From the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana

On Diwali night families worship Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune. The Vishnu Purana tells how the world once lost her, and how she came back.

The sage Durvasa gave Indra, the king of the gods, a garland of fragrant flowers. Indra hung it on his elephant Airavata, and the elephant pulled it off and threw it on the ground. Durvasa cursed Indra that his rule over the three worlds would fall. From that day the worlds lost their prosperity and their strength. Plants dried up, sacrifices stopped, and people were ruled by desire. Indra later said to the Goddess that, left without her, the three worlds were close to ruin.

On Lord Vishnu's advice, the gods and the demons together churned the ocean of milk, with Mount Mandara as the churning stick and the serpent Vasuki as the rope. Many treasures rose from the ocean. Then, from the waves, Shri herself appeared, seated on a full blown lotus and holding a lotus in her hand.

The great sages sang her praises. The heavenly musicians sang and the heavenly dancers danced. The Ganga and the other holy rivers came to bathe her, and the great elephants of the sky poured water over her from golden vessels. The ocean of milk gave her a garland of flowers that never fade, and Vishvakarma, the divine craftsman, adorned her with jewels.

The Bhagavata Purana adds that Lakshmi looked carefully at all the beings gathered there, gods, sages, demons and heavenly beings, and found some fault in each. Then she chose Lord Vishnu, who needs nothing and has every good quality. She placed a garland of lotuses on his shoulders and stood beside him, and her home became his chest. Wherever her kind glance fell, the gods grew rich and happy, while the demons, whom she turned away from, lost heart.

With Lakshmi back, the Vishnu Purana says, the sun shone brightly again, the fires blazed, the heavenly bodies kept their paths, and the three worlds were prosperous once more. Indra sang a hymn to her, calling her the mother of all beings, and begged her never to leave the worlds again. Pleased, Lakshmi gave him two boons: she would never again abandon the three worlds, and she would not turn away from anyone who sings that hymn to her morning and evening.

Another story

This is the story popularly told for Diwali across North India; Valmiki's Ramayana does not tie it to Diwali. After fourteen years in the forest and the defeat of Ravana, Lord Rama came home to Ayodhya with Sita and Lakshmana. Families say that the people of Ayodhya lit the streets with rows of lamps to welcome them home, and that the lamps of Diwali carry on that welcome.