Holi Festival

     Today is festival of colors Holi and it is celebrated across India with great enthusiasm and fervor but as other festivals of India how and when they begins Holi is also not exception and lot of stories found in the history book related to Holi, legends which are widely accepted across country by large number of people are –

•  Legend of Hiranyakashyap and Prahlad -This is the most popular legend of Holi. It says once a demon King Hiranyakashyap demanded everybody in his kingdom to worship him. But, to his great disappointment his pious son Prahlad became a devotee of Lord Vishnu. The cruel Hiranyakashyap wanted his son to be killed. He asked his sister Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. For Holika, she had a boon that made her immune to fire. Legend says, Prahlad was saved by the grace of Lord while evil-minded Holika was burnt to ashes, as she was not aware that her boon worked only when she entered the fire alone. Since that time, people light a bonfire, called Holika on the eve of Holi Festival to celebrate the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion to god.
• Story of Radha and Krishna-Another legend, which tells us the use of colors in Holi is that of Lord Krishna and Radha. Lord Krishna use to play with colors with Radha and Gopis. This lovable prank of throwing colored powder and watercolors called 'pichkaris' soon gained favor with the people and it evolved into the tradition of Holi. This is the reason that people play with colors in Holi and at the same time they worship Lord Krishna and Radha. The Holi of Mathura and Vrindavan region are very famous because it is the place where Krishna was born and spend his childhood days.
• It is believed that there was once an Ogress called Dhundhi in the kingdom of Prithu. The female monster used to specially trouble little children who became fed- up of her. Dhundhi had a boon from Lord Shiva that she would not be killed by gods, men nor suffer from arms nor from heat, cold or rain. These boons which made her almost invincible but she also had a weak point. She was also cursed by Lord Shiva that she would be in danger from boys going about crazy. Deeply troubled by the Ogress, the King of Raghu consulted his priest. Giving the solution, the priest said that on Phalguna 15, the season of cold vanishes and summer starts. Boys with bits of wood in their hands may go out of their house, collect a heap of wood and grass, set it on fire with mantras, clap their hands, go around the fire thrice, laugh, sing and by their noise, laughter and homa, the ogress would die. The legend has it that on the day of Holi, village boys displayed their united might and chased Dhundhi away by a blitzkrieg of shouts, abuses and pranks. It is for this reason that young boys are allowed to use rude words on the day of Holi without anybody taking offence. Children also take great pleasure in burning Holika.
• Legend of Kamadeva- According to Hindu mythology, the world is looked after the Trinity of Gods - Lord Brahma, the creator; Lord Vishnu, the nurturer; and Lord Shiva, the destroyer. According to a legend, Goddess Sati, the daughter of Daksha Prajapati, one of the first sons of Lord Brahma, married Lord Shiva against the wishes of her father. Thus, Daksha did not invite her and her husband to a grand yagya arranged by him. When Sati came to know about the event in her father's house, she thought it to be a slip of mind and proceeded to participate in the event despite the warnings of her husband. But once she reached there, she realized her fault and was infuriated by the insult of her husband. As a penance for her disobedience, she entered the fire. When Lord Shiva came to know of her sudden demise, he was furious. Even after he controlled his anger, he started a severe meditation and renounced all work. The world's balance soon crumbled in his absence and Sati took rebirth as Goddess Parvati to try and win Lord Shiva's heart and wake him up from his trance. She tried all ways to get the attention of Shiva. When she had exhausted all her feminine ways, she invoked the help of Kamadeva, the Indian cupid-god, who agreed to help her in the cause of the world despite the risks involved. He shot his love-arrow on Shiva's heart. Disturbed in his trance, Lord Shiva opened his third eye that fired anger and instantly incinerated Kamadeva. It is said that it was on the day of Holi that Kamadeva had sacrificed himself for the good of all beings. Later, when Lord Shiva realized his mistake, he granted Kamadeva immortality in invisible form. To this day, people offer sandalwood paste to Kamadeva to relieve from his stinging burns and mango blossoms that he loved on Holi.
• Legend of Pootana -At some places, people celebrate Holi to mark the death of evil-minded ogress by the name of Pootana. It is said that Pootana tried to kill Lord Krishna as an infant by feeding it poisonous milk while executing the plan of Kansa, Krishna's devil uncle. However, Krishna sucked her blood and brought her end. Some who view the origin of festivals from seasonal cycles believe that Pootana represents winter and her death the cessation and end of winter.

In today’s environment celebration of Holi change a lot and some ugly and untoward scene can be seen on Holi festival in the streets due to mischievous elements who use chemical colors, grease, paints, balloon, egg as tool to color others but as Holi is festival of colors, enjoyment and happiness so we should celebrate Holi within limits without teasing and making fun of others.