Holi – A colourful Indian Festival

Holi is the festival of love or colors that signifies the victory of superior over immoral. Holi festival is commemorate on February end or starting March.

There was once a demon named Hiranyakashyap who was so egoistic that he commanded everybody in his kingdom to worship only him. But to his great disappointment, his son, Prahlad became an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana and refused to worship his father. Hiranyakashyap tried several ways to kill his son Prahlad but Lord Vishnu saved him every time.

Finally, he asked his sister, Holika to enter  fire with Prahlad in her lap. Hiranyakashyap knew that Holika had a boon, where she could enter the fire unscathed. So Holika made Prahlad to sit on her lap and she herself took her seat in a blazing fire. Holika was not aware that the boon worked only when she entered the fire alone. So Holika was burnt to death in the fire. Whereas,Prahlad  who kept chanting the name of Lord Naarayana all this while, came out unharmed, as the lord blessed him for his extreme devotion.Thus, Holi derives its name from Holika. Even today, people do Holika dhahan which is  ‘Holika’s burning to ashes’ every year to mark the victory of good over evil.

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