Have a Prosperous and Happy Diwali !

   Today is Diwali and as per common and widely belief it is celebrated from the time when Lord Rama return to Ayodhya alongwith Sita Mata and brother Lakshman after completing his 14 years stay in jungle as exile and at fag end of this exile period Lord Rama killed Ravana who kidnapped Mata Sita fraudulently, then with the help of his army and babhishen (brother of Ravana) kill him and free Mata Sita from Ravana’s captivity. Deepawali or Diwali is certainly the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. It's the festival of lights (deep means light and avali means a row, so it mean a row of lights) that's marked by four days of celebration, which literally illumines the country with its brilliance, and dazzles all with its joy. Each day of Diwali has it's own tale, legend and myth to tell. The first day of the festival Naraka Chaturdasi marks the vanquishing of the demon Naraka by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama. Amavasya, the second day of Deepawali, marks the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth in her most benevolent mood, fulfilling the wishes of her devotees. Amavasya also tells the story of Lord Vishnu, who in his dwarf incarnation vanquished the tyrant Bali, and banished him to hell. Bali was allowed to return to earth once a year, to light millions of lamps to dispel the darkness and ignorance, and spread the radiance of love and wisdom. It is on the third day of Deepawali — Kartika Shudda Padyami that Bali steps out of hell and rules the earth according to the boon given by Lord Vishnu. The fourth day is referred to as Yama Dvitiya (also called Bhai Dooj) and on this day sisters invite their brothers to their homes, but from age’s some more legends are also attached with Diwali festival and they are –

•  According to a popular legend in North India, Diwali marks the day when Lord Ram - the revered Hindu God, was crowned as the King of Ayodhya. Ram returned to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile with wife Sita, brother Laxman and devotee Hanuman. The exile was pronounced on Ram by father Dashrath on the persistence of queen Kaikayi. During the period of exile Ram performed many good deeds for the benefit of mankind and also slayed the demon Kind Ravana who abducted Sita. When Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya everybody in the Kingdom was happy. To express their joy and jubilation people decorated their houses with flowers and garlands. They also lighted diyas and burnt crackers to mark the victory of good over evil. This tradition of lighting diyas and bursting crackers is being carried out since then on the occasion of Diwali.
• As per another legends Narakasura, a monster, ruled the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram. He was a trouble-maker to the gods and the pious sages and would disturb their penance or create havoc during the rituals. To prove his power, Narakasura usurped some territory of Aditi, (the king of Suraloka and a relative of Satyabhama, Lord Krishna's wife). Vexed with this harassment, Indra and other gods approached Lord Krishna and pleaded with him to protect them from the demon "Narakasura”. Satyabhama appealed to Krishna to give her the golden chance to destroy Narakasura, as Narakasura was given a curse that he would be killed by a woman. Krishna granted her a boon to fight with Narakasura. With Krishna as the charioteer, Satyabhama entered the battle field and killed the demon, Narakasura. The killing of Narakasura was a victory of good over evil. It is interesting to note that Bhudevi, mother of the slain Narakasura, declared that his death should not be a day of mourning but an occasion to celebrate and rejoice. Since then, Diwali is being celebrated by people every year with joyous celebrations with lot of fun and frolic, and fire works.
• Legend of Goddess Lakshmi-Legend goes that Goddess Lakshmi - the Hindu mythological Goddess of Wealth, was incarnated on amavasya or the no moon day in the Hindu month of Kartik (October-November). This explains why people perform Lakshmi Puja on the day of Diwali. It is believed that Goddess Lakshmi was incarnated during the famous Samudra-Manthan (churning of ocean) process that was carried out by devas (Gods) and asuras (demons) for the sake of Amrit or the nectar of immortality. Goddess Lakshmi gave the Amrit to Gods.
• The famous legend of Diwali from South India narrates the story of King Bali and Lord Vishnu. The legend goes that Gods were feeling threatened looking at the increasing popularity of King Bali. To check his growing reign, Lord Vishnu appeared in the Vamana (dwarf) avatar and requested King Bali for as much land as could be covered by his three steps. Known for his generosity, King Bali agreed to this seemingly trivial request. But to the surprise of all present, Vamana increased in cosmic proportions and with his first step he covered all the heaven and with the second he covered the earth. Then he asked Bali for a space to keep his third step. Realizing that Vamana was Lord himself. Bali bowed down and offered his head to place the third step. With his third step Lord Vishnu pushed Bali to Patalalok or the nether world. But looking at his good behavior, Lord Vishnu gave Bali the lamp of knowledge. He also allowed him to visit earth once in a year to light millions of lamps in order to dispel darkness of ignorance and spread the power of light and knowledge.
• The Return of The Pandavas -The great Hindu epic 'Mahabharata' has another interesting story related to the 'Kartik Amavasya'. According to the story, 'the Pandavas', the five brothers Yudhishthhira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahdeva, were sentenced to thirteen years exile as a result of their defeat against 'the Kauravs' - Duryodhana and his ninety nine brothers, at the game of dice. Therefore, the Pandavas spent thirteen years in the jungles and returned to their kingdom on the day of 'Kartik Amavasya'. On their return, the people of their kingdom welcomed the Pandavas by celebrating the event by lighting the earthen lamps all over in their city.
• Coronation of King Vikramaditya -Another legend or story about Diwali celebrations relates to one of the greatest Hindu King - Vikramaditya. It was the day when he was coroneted and the people celebrated this event by lighting tiny earthen 'diyas'.
• In rural areas, Diwali signifies Harvest Festival. Diwali which occurs at the end of a cropping season has along with the above custom, a few others that reinforce the hypothesis of its having originated as a harvest. Every harvest normally spelt prosperity. The celebration was first started in India by farmers after they reaped their harvests. They celebrated with joy and offered praises to God for granting them a good crop.

      The tradition of gambling on Diwali also has a story behind it. It is believed that on this day, Goddess Parvati played dice with her husband Lord Shiva, and she decreed that whosoever gambled on Diwali night would prosper throughout the ensuing year. Diwali is associated with wealth and prosperity in many ways, and the festival of 'Dhanteras' (dhan means wealth; teras means 13th) is celebrated two days before the festival of lights.

    We the Family Trilochan Jaswal members greets everybody at yourgoodself end very Happy and prosperous Diwali and pray to Maa Laxmi (Goddess of Prosperity) for her blessing on every individuals and hopefully this Diwali will be one of the best of all Diwali of your life, May coming time will be full of Health, Happiness and Prosperity for all of you. Happy Diwali.