DIWALI

also spelled Divali, one of the major religious festivals in India, celebrated over a five-day period from the 13th day of the dark half of the Hindu month Asvina to the 2nd day of the light half of Karttika. (The corresponding Gregorian dates fall in late October.) The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dipavali, or row of lights. The festival is observed with particular enthusiasm by members of the merchant communities and honours Laksmi, the goddess of wealth (in Bengal the goddess Kali is worshiped). During the festival, small earthenware lamps filled with oil are lighted and placed in rows along the parapets of temples and houses and set adrift on rivers and streams. This is said to be in commemoration of the return of Rama (an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu) to Ayodhya and his delayed coronation as king after 14 years in exile. The fourth daythe main Diwali festival dayalso marks the beginning of the new year according to the Vikrama calendar. Merchants perform religious ceremonies and open new account books. It is generally a time for visiting, exchanging gifts, decorating houses, feasting, and wearing new clothes. Gambling is encouraged at this season, as a way of ensuring good luck for the coming year and in remembrance of Lord Shiva and Parvati's games of dice played on Mount Kailasa. Diwali is also an important festival among members of the Jaina community, many of whom belong to the merchant class. For the Jainas, the day commemorates the passing into Nirvana (i.e., death) of Mahavira, the most recent of the Jaina Tirthankaras, or saints. The lighting of the lamps is explained as a material substitute for the light of holy knowledge that was extinguished with Mahavira's passing.