By Sanjib Mukherjee,

One of the most beautiful and vibrant occasions in India is the exuberant rituals and fun observed during Holi (the festival of colours), around the end of February and beginning of March. The celebration of Holi rejoices a wonderful story about the forces of good destroying an the forces of evil. The classic tale is still relived today with much vigour and enthusiasm, but like everything else in Hindu mythology, is also steeped with significance and relevance to today’s world. The story begins as follows…

Hiranyakashipu was an all powerful demon king who through the efforts of intense worship and spiritual practices, had attained a numerous set of boons which determined he could no longer be killed on the earth or in the sky, could not be killed during day or night, could not be destroyed by animal or man, or be killed by astra or shastra (knowledge of weapons).  The impact of these divine gifts had given the king a huge sense of indifference to the world, as he now truly believed himself to be invincible and above all other beings. Such was his distortion of thought, that now he demanded his subjects to worship him instead of the heavenly gods.

Everyone duly obliged except his righteous son Prahlad (a sincere devotee of the Lord Vishnu). In shear disgust at his own sons’ insubordination, the king had tried numerous attempt to kill him, but on each occasion failed miserably. Finally, the king turned to his daughter Holika to help him destroy Prahlada.

Holika too was granted a boon in the guise of a shawl which protected her from fire. Thus she had proceeded to devise a cunning plan, where she would sit in the middle of a fire pyre with Prahlad resting on her lap. Prahlad was an innocent soul who only sought the attentions of Vishnu and no-one else. His innocence allowed him to stray into his sisters arms and engulf himself into the fire, however his faith in the divine was always on hand to protect him.

The scriptures proclaim, that the faith of a devotee can be so powerful, even the gods themselves are unable to match its sincerity and strength. Thus, when Prahlada was in harms way, Vishnu himself had to intervene and removed Holika’s shawl to cover and protect his beloved devotee. Consequently, Holika became engulfed in flames and perished in the fire.

Vishnu then preceded to enter the king’s kingdom in the body of a Narasimha (half man, half lion) and on the steps of the kings house (which was not inside or outside) killed the king at dawn (which was not during the day or night) by digging his sharp claws (which were neither astra or shastra) into his body and finishing him over his lap (which meant the king was imbalanced, not on the earth or in the sky). Despite all the boons granted to the evil  king, the Lord himself was able to overcome them all and prevail good over evil. This entire episode affectionately became known as Holi (after the burning of the Holika in the burning pyre).

In years to come Krishna (a divine incarnation of Vishnu) would extensively celebrate holi through music, dance and many games. On one such day, legend has it, he complained to his mother Yashoda, about Radha (his eternal companion) whose skin was much fairer than his dark cloud like features. Yashoda in response moved towards Radha and smeared her with colour powder to appease her doting son, and thus began a tradition of playing with colours during the Holi festival.

Life is full of emotions, with every emotion being linked to a colour. A mixture of colour is what brings diversity and fulfillment in life, but this same mixture can also cause trouble with our emotions and feelings. Once all the colours get grossly mixed, we end up with a dark confused pool which can at times engulf the beauty of each individual colour.

The significance of celebrating with colours is to remove this darkness and once again rejoice in the diversity of each emotion we possess within ourselves. Prahlada found himself in a murky situation where his life was in danger. He had nothing to protect him other than his faith in his Lord. Vishnu not only guided his faithful devotee to safety, but also destroyed the very root of all evil surrounding Prahlada by removing the demon king. Once the darkness in Prahlada’s life had been removed, all that was left was light. The celebration of Holi is intended to remove the darkness in our lives and remember the vibrancy of colours we have within us all.