- By Aalok Sensharma
- Mon, 09 Mar 2020 07:50 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
New Delhi | Jagran Lifestyle Desk: Holika Dahan, which is also known as 'Choti Holi', will be observed on March 9 this year. On this people, people lit a bonfire which signifies the burning of bad spirits and victory of good over evil. The shubh muhurat for Holika Dahan this year is from 6.22 pm to 8.49 pm. On the other hand, the Purnima Tithi will begin at 3.03 am on March 9 and end at 11:17 pm on the same day.
Here’s the complete story of Holika Dahan:
On the occasion of Holika Dahan, people lit a dummy of asura (demon) Holika. According to legends, Holika was the sister of demon Hiranyakashipu who was the king of India. Hiranyakashipu had received a blessing from Lord Bramha which made him virtually immortal. Hiranyakashipu wanted to take revenge from Lord Vishnu, who killed his brother Hiranyakasha in his Varaha avatar.
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Thus to take revenge from Lord Vishnu, Hiranyakashipu started killing his devotees. The legends say that Hiranyakashipu eradicated almost all the devotees of Lord Vishnu from the Earth. However, Hiranyakashipu had a son named Prahlad -- who was a big devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Hiranyakashipu was outraged by this and asked his son to stop worshipping Lord Vishnu. However, Prahlad refused to do so and thus Hiranyakashipu decided to take his own son’s life. Hiranyakashipu tried many ways to kill Prahlad but failed. Each time Hiranyakashipu tried to kill his son, Lord Vishnu came and saved Prahlad, which enraged him more.
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Thus, Hiranyakashipu decided to call his sister Holika who had a special cloak clothe that prevented her from being harmed by fire. Hiranyakashipu decided that Holika will sit with Prahlad to kill him. However, the opposite happened and Lord Vishnu once again saved Prahlad while Holika was killed. Later Lord Vishnu appeared in his Narasimha avatar and killed Hiranyakashipu, ending his cruel rule. Thus we celebrate Holika Dahan which signifies the burning of bad spirits and victory of good over evil.
