Hindu Rituals in India
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| The girl light some candles to celebrate the Devali |
In present day India, there are
several Hindu festivals and holidays that are celebrated nationally. These are:
Holi, Diwali and Durga Puja. In addition to those major festivals, there are also
minor festivals. These include festivals like Mahashivaratri (“the sacred night of Shiva”), which
is popular in both North and South India, Ram
Navami (“the birthday of Rama”), Krishna
Jayanti (“the birthday of Krishna”) and Raksabandhana
(“the renewing of bonds between brothers and sisters”). Some festivals are
most popular in particular regions of the subcontinent; Dassera, celebrating the victory of Rama over the demon king
Ravana, for example is most popular in the north, while Ponggal, which may have originally been a rice harvest festival, is
celebrated only in the south. Other festivals involve pilgrimages timed to
astronomical cycles, like the Kumbha
Mela, which is held every 12 years at the confluence of the Gangga and
Yamuna rivers at Prayag.
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| The celebration of colors, we are the same color during the Holi |
Holi is the
Spring festival of colors celebrated for two days in either February or March.
On the evening of the first day of Holi the celebration begins with a public
bonfire commemorating the burning of the Holika,
and effigy that represents the aunt of Prahlad, a devotee of Vishnu, whom she
threatened with a fiery death if he disobeyed the ban on worshipping Vishnu
that had been issued by her brother Hiranyakashapu. The second day of Holi is
called Dhul-hendi. People spend the day cheerfully throwing colored powder and
water on each other, regardless of the usual questions of hierarchy and status
that dominate traditional Indian social life. During this Holi celebration the
rigid social norms and traditions associated with caste, sex, status and ages
that confine them in daily normal life are loosened, and a carnival-like
atmosphere dominates everywhere. The Holi festival helps to bridge social
distance and brings people together as they set aside polite behavior for one
day. By the end of Holi, everyone should look the same—very colorful and with
barely recognizable difference among them. Some people also celebrate Holi by
indulge in drinking alcohol, or thandai,
a cooling drink that on this special day is laced with bhang, a concoction made from cannabis that is sacred to the god
Shiva.
Diwali or deepavali is the celebration of lights
that celebrates the victory of good over evil and the triumph of light over
darkness. It is held in early November and for many communities represents the
high point of the yearly cycle of rituals.
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| The image of the goddess Durga flanked by Saraswati (left) and Laksmi (right) |
Durga Puja,
the celebration of the power of Shakti, the female energy of the gods, focuses
on the goddess Durga and the celebration of her victory over Mahisasura, the
buffalo demon. Durga Puja is an especially important festival for the Bengalis.
It consumes an enormous amount of energy during the period of its festivities,
which usually fall during the first week of October. The city of Kolkata is
especially notable during this festival. People from every neighborhood build pandals, temporary buildings designed
to enshrine images of the goddess Durga, and at times her “sister goddesses”
Saraswati and Lakshmi. The goddess Durga is the central image, flanked by the
goddess Saraswati on the left side and the goddess Lakshmi on the right. The
goddess Durga is the most popular amongst the devotees compared to the other
goddesses because the goddess Durga is very generous to her devotees.[1]
Here for a period of nine days devotees can do puja by chanting sacred hymns taken from the Devi Mahatmya or Durga
Saptasati to temporary images of the goddess artfully fashioned from papier-mâché
and paint. After this the
images are taken to the steps (ghat-s)
that line the river Gangga and are thrown with reverence into the waters of the
holy river with the hope that with the completion of the cycle of Durga Puja
new life will begin.
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| Another pandal depicting the Tri Sakti (Saraswati, Durga and Laksmi) |
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