themes - Good over Evil - Light over darkness - Righteousness over treachery - Coming back home - return The

e Defeat of Narakasur Narkasur was a demon who ruled the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram. Amongst other wicked deeds, he kidnapped beautiful women and forced them to live with him. To prove his power, Narkasur stole some earrings belonging to Aditi, mother of all Gods. The gods were not happy and asked Lord Krishna for help. A curse had been put on Narkasur, which said that one day he would be killed by his mother. Lord Krishna knew that his wife, Satyabhama, was a reincarnation of Narkasur's mother, so he asked her to drive the chariot as he went to battle with the demon. Narkasur shot an arrow at Lord Krishna, who pretended to be hit. Satyabhama made use of this opportunity, grabbed Lord Krishna's bow and arrow and killed the demon instantly. Narkasur's mother declared that her son's death should not be a day of gloom and so Hindus celebrate this event as it shows the power of good over evil. It is said that after the battle with the demon, Lord Krishna bathed in oil to clean the splattered blood from his body. In some regions rubbing oil into the body or having a special oil bath is part of the Diwali celebrations. Kali destroys all evil story told during Kali pooja Bengali equivalent - coincides with Diwali Also Kali is a form of Laxmi Long long ago, the world was overrun with evil - men had turned to wicked ways, and demons, rakshasas and ogres thrived and prospered. The gods were helpless. They could do nothing to control or contain the evil in the world. In desperation they turned to the supreme goddess Devi for help. Devi agreed to end the evil, and took on the black and frightening form of the goddess of destruction to do so. This form of Devi is known as Kali, which means 'black'. Devi in the form of Kali then went on a rampage of destruction, killing and destroying all the evil men and demons in the world. Kali became so angry that she could not stop, even when all the evil had been destroyed. She began destroying the entire world in her fury. The gods asked her to stop, but she didn't hear them. They turned to Shiv her husband for help as the only one who could stop her. But Kali didn't hear him either. So Shiv lay down in her path - and only when she put her foot on him did she come to her senses, and stop her madness of destruction. Kali is worshipped in her destructive mode. She is terrifying to look at, black and furious, with four hands, dripping blood and dressed in skulls. She is shown with one foot on Shiv who lies prone in her path, and with her tongue sticking out in shock and horror as she realises the destruction she is causing. Vishnu defeats Bali Mahabhali was so great a demon king that he rose up from the subterranean realm of the Asuras, and went on to become became master of the three worlds those above, those below and all that in between, displacing even Indra, king of the Devas.

This created chaos in the cosmos and the sages begged Vishnu, preserver of the universe, to intervene and restore order. Mahabali was impossible to defeat at war. The only way to defeat him was by cunning. Mahabali was known for his charitable nature, which is why he was much loved and difficult to overthrow. So Vishnu approached him in the form of a dwarf and asked Mahabali three paces of land, enough for me to sleep on. Take it, said Mahabali, without a second thought. Vishnu immediately turned into a giant. With one step, he claimed the sky, and gave it back to the Devas. With the second, he claimed the earth. With the third, he shoved Mahabali back to the realm under the ground where all Asuras belong. Laxmi Lakshmi symbolizing prosperity and wealth is the chief deity worshipped during Diwali many of the themes and the motifs prevalent around Diwali and its many rituals are centred around the manifestation of Lakshmi. Two legends associated with Lakshmi around Diwali - According to the one of the legends associated with Lakshmi and Diwali, on this day, Lakshmi emerged from Kshira Sagar, the Ocean of Milk, during the great churning of the oceans, Samudra manthan. For this I will just share the Rajshree semitotic presentation which has decoded Lakshmi with some visual references Pandavas Return In the Mahabharata, The Pandavas had to undertake a twelve year Vanvas (and one year of being incognito), after Yudhistira lost the controversial game of dice to Duryodhana and Shakuni (the Kauravas being the 100 coousins who were the arch enemies of the Pandavas the conflict between the sons of Pandu and Dhritarashtra Pandavas and Kauravas forms the essential conflict of the epic Mahabharata). The Pandavas return Krishna defeats Indra The lifting of govardhana hill Govardhan Puja is celebrated the day after Diwali. It is the day Lord Krishna defeated Indra, the deity of thunder and rain. As per the story, Krishna saw huge preparations for the annual offering to Indra and questions his father Nanda about it. He debated with the villagers about what their 'dharma' truly was. They were farmers, they should do their duty and concentrate on farming and protection of their cattle. He continued to say that all human beings should merely do their 'karma', to the best of their ability and not pray or conduct sacrifices for natural phenomenon. The villagers were convinced by Krishna, and did not proceed with the special puja (prayer). Indra was then angered, and flooded the village. Krishna then lifted Mt Govardhan and held it up as protection to his people and cattle from the rain. Indra finally accepted defeat and recognized Krishna as supreme.