Holi is celebrated during the Hindu month of ‘Phagun’ as a victory of good over the evil . The tale associated with this festival is that of ‘Prahlad’ who was the son of Hiranyakashipu and a devotee of lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu who wanted to revenge his brother’s death by killing lord Vishnu, hated the fact that his son worshipped the lord with so much faith.
Prahlad continued to worship the lord in spite of various warnings from his father. The king whose anger finally knew no bounds decided to kill his own son for having disobeyed him.
He asked his sister, who was immune to fire to sit on a pyre with Prahlad on her lap and burn him down. But as miracles happen, , Holika burned down to ashes and little Prahlad walked out of the pyre without a scratch.
Later Lord Vishnu took the avatar of Narsimha and killed Hiranyakashipu as well. It is the death of Holika that is associated with this festival, People burn her image on the first day, burning all the evil out of their lives. And as Lord Krishna used to play Holi in Gokul and he is considered a form of Lord Vishnu, it has popularised playing with colours on the next day.
Holi is one of the most important festivals in India; It is considered the festival of colours. Holi all over the country is a national holiday for 2 consecutive days. The first day is when everyone gathers to burn what they call the image of ‘Holika’, the evil sister of the demon king ‘Hiranyakashyipu’.
Holi is celebrated during the Hindu month of ‘Phagun’ as a victory of good over the evil . The tale associated with this festival is that of ‘Prahlad’ who was the son of Hiranyakashipu and a devotee of lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu who wanted to revenge his brother’s death by killing lord Vishnu, hated the fact that his son worshipped the lord with so much faith.
Prahlad continued to worship the lord in spite of various warnings from his father. The king whose anger finally knew no bounds decided to kill his own son for having disobeyed him.
He asked his sister, who was immune to fire to sit on a pyre with Prahlad on her lap and burn him down. But as miracles happen, , Holika burned down to ashes and little Prahlad walked out of the pyre without a scratch.
Later Lord Vishnu took the avatar of Narsimha and killed Hiranyakashipu as well. It is the death of Holika that is associated with this festival, People burn her image on the first day, burning all the evil out of their lives. And as Lord Krishna used to play Holi in Gokul and he is considered a form of Lord Vishnu, it has popularised playing with colours on the next day.
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