Udisha
Holika Dahan
As Holi approaches and we prepare to celebrate the beautiful festival of colours, we must talk about the ritual of Holika Dahan, that takes place the day before Holi, also known as Chhoti Holi. On this day, an effigy of Holika is burnt to symbolise the victory of good over evil.
A day of celebration
Families and friends gather to celebrate on Holika Dahan as they pray to the spirit of the demoness to make sure peace prevails. To understand the ritual, one must know the legend of Holika and Prahlada.
Hiranyakashipu's order
The legend goes that demon king Hiranyakashipu had ordered his sister Holika to murder his own son Prahlada because he was extremely unhappy by his blind devotion to Lord Vishnu.
The protective shawl
Hiranyakashipu had attained immortality of Lord Brahma and his arrogance knew no bounds. He asked Holika to take Prahlada to a bonfire and sit inside it until he burns to death. He gave her sister a shawl that promised to protect her from getting burnt.
Divine intervention
However, when the hour came, Lord Vishnu's divine intervention saved his devotee from death as the shawl flew from Holika and landed on Prahlada, protecting him from the fire. Consequently, Holika died a burning death as good prevailed over evil. Later, Hiranyakashipu was killed by Lord Vishnu in his Narasimha avatar, to bypass his immortality boon.