What is the Holi festival about?

 Holi is the festival of colors celebrated by the Hindu religion.   It is celebrated massively in India and Nepal. At the same time, different places of the Hindu people around the world. its celebrated among the friends and relatives by colors, water having good food, dancing, and singing.

The festival Holi comes once in a year mostly in the beginning of spring like February or March ( According to Nepali calendar  Fhagun or Chait).   Holi is different festival than another festival.  It Helps to clear the misunderstanding between the love ones,  share happiness together,  and enemies become a friend. The Holi also the sign of victory over the bad evils.

 Holi is the ancient Hindu religion which is now popular other religion in south Asia too. Recently the holy festival spreading over the North America and Europe as a medium of sharing love and happiness.

Why is the Holi festival celebrated?

This may be the interesting question for the all young people and enthusiastic one, According to Bhagwat  Purana, a king named Hiranyakashipu  who was  the demon. He was blessed by the god Brahma and   he was immortal with five special power  which were:

1)he could be killed by neither a human being nor an animal,

2) neither indoors nor outdoors,

3)neither at day nor at night,

4) neither by Astra (projectile weapons) nor by any Shastra (handheld weapons),

5)and neither on land nor in water or air.

As this wish was granted, Hiranyakashyapu felt invincible, which made him arrogant and pride. He started to kill innocence people even to gods.. Hiranyakashyapu decreed that only he be worshiped as a God, punished and killed anyone who did not accept his orders. His son Praland disagreed with his father, and refused to worship his father as a god. He was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu and continued believing and worshipping Lord  Vishnu.

Narsingha killing the demon Hiranyakashyapu

Hiranyakashipu  did not like the behavior of his own son and attempt to kill his own son. But Hiranyakashipu  fails to kill Prahlad. King Hiranyakashyapu called upon his sister Holika for help. Holika had a special cloak garment that prevented her from being harmed by fire. Hiranyakashyapu his sister to sit by a fire with Prahlad, by tricking the boy to sit on her lap. However, as the fire roared, the garment flew from Holika and covered Prahlad. Holika burnt to death, Prahlad came out unharmed. Lord Vishnu protect his devotee. In order to kill the Demon Hiranyakashyapu,  Lord vVishnu tactfully  change his appearance and become Narasinga ( Half human and Half Lion., at dusk (when it was neither day nor night), took Hiranyakashyapu at a doorstep (which was neither indoors nor outdoors), placed him on his lap (which was neither land, water nor air), and then eviscerated and killed the king with his lion claws (which were neither a handheld weapon nor a launched weapon). In this form, the boon of five special powers granted to Hiranyakashyapu was no longer useful. Prahlad and the kingdom of human beings were lived  fearless  of Hiranyakashyapu.From that era, the Holi festival had been celebrating as a victory of good over the bad evils.

HOLI celebration with my family, 2017

Holi at Basantapur Darbar Square, 2017

Click here in the video to see my Holi