 "Holika Dahan")
Holi is a festival of colours which falls every year in the month of March. It is a delightful celebration of colour, unity and renewal. This year Holi will be celebrated on March 25, 2024. On this day, people throw coloured powder and water at each other, with the celebrations being full of fun and laughter, and on this auspicious occasion, people come together to celebrate uniqueness.
The colourful festival lasts for two days, the first one is Holika Dahan which is also called Choti Holi, where the bonfire is lit to signify the victory of good over evil. Then the next day, everyone celebrates Rangwalli Holi which is also called Dhuleti or Dhulandi. Dulhandi is full of fun as people play with colours and water with each other.
But have you ever wondered why people celebrate Holika Dahan? You will get your answer here.
Who is Holika?
Holika is the sister of Asura king Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha and she was the paternal aunt of Prahlada. Holika is also known as Simhika. A day before Holi, people light up a pyre which they call Holika Dahan. On this day, everyone comes together to sing and dance around it and the next day everyone plays Holi with colour.
Why is Holika Dahan celebrated?
As per Bhagavata Purana, there was a king called Hiranyakashipu. He had special power granted to him by Lord Brahma. Due to the boon, he could not be killed by humans or animals, inside or outside, during the day or night, by thrown or handled weapons, neither on land, water nor in the air.
After getting the boon, he thought that he was unbeatable. He ordered his regime to worship only him, punishing or killing those who did not obey. But his son Prahlad never followed his orders and kept worshipping Lord Vishnu. This made Hiranyakashipu furious and he tried to kill Prahlad multiple times but failed miserably. At last, the king turned to his sister Holika for help.
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Holika had a special power that she couldn’t burn from fire. But she forgot that her powers only work when she went to fire alone and hence she got burned when she went into fire with Prahlad. In the meantime, Prahlad was chanting Lord Narayana's name and hence Lord Vishnu came in the form of Narasimha and killed demon king Hiranyakashipu.
Holika Dahan in 2024
This year, Holika Dahan will be celebrated on March 24 which will celebrate the victory of Lord Vishnu's devotee, Prahalad over the evil intentions of his demoniac aunt, Holika. As the sun sets, people will burn Holika signifying the burning of negative energies and the arrival of positivity.
