Kartik Purnima is an important festival of three major communities in India. The Hindus, Jains and the Sikhs celebrate this holy day for their respective reasons. Kartik Purnima is also sometimes known as Tripuri or Tripurari Purnima. The most significant thing about Kartik Purnima is that it is a major festival for all the three communities and various legends make this festival all the more interesting. To start with, it is believed that Lord Vishnu took the Matsya avatar on the day of Kartik Purnima. The celebration of Dev Deepawali is conducted to mark the victory of Lord Shiva over the demon Tripurasura. Jains take a pilgrimage to Palitana to worship their lord after a period of four months. Sikhs celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak Dev on the day of Kartik Purnima. Hence the day is equally important for all the three communities.
Let us have a look at the significance of Kartik Purnima.
Significance For Hindus Kartik Purnima marks the end of the Chaturmas period during which the Gods are believed to sleep. On the day of the Kartik Purnima the Gods are said to awaken and hence many rituals and fairs are conducted on this day. According to legends, Lord Shiva killed a demon named Tripurasura on the day of Kartik Purnima and so people light lamps to celebrate His victory. This celebration by lighting lamps is known as the Dev Deepawali and is celebrated on a huge scale in the holy city of Varanasi. On the day of the Kartik Purnima, the worship of Goddess Tulsi is also observed. People light lamps and worship the Tulsi plant for better health and prosperity. Many fairs like the Pushkar fairs in Rajasthan and other parts is also conducted on the day of Kartik Purnima.
Significance For Jains Kartik Purnima is an important day for the Jains as well. Thousands of Jain pilgrims flock to the foothills of the Shatrunjay hills of Palitana on this day to undertake the auspicious journey. This is an extremely significant yatra for the Jain pilgrims. The doors of the temple of Lord Adinath open after a period of four months. So, there is a huge gathering of devotees to worship their Lord. One has to cover a distance of 216 kms on foot through mountainous regions to worship Lord Adinath which is situated on the top of the hill.
Significance For Sikhs Kartik Purnima is also a very auspicious day for the Sikhs. Sikhs celebrate the birthday of their founder and first Guru, Nanak Dev on this day. This day is known as Gurupurab and it is one of the major festivals of the Sikhs. India is a land of diversity. Yet the unity of culture of this land remains unchanged. We can witness the celebration of three different faiths on a single day. Thus, Kartik Purnima is a major Indian festival which marks the unity of three faiths.
No comments:
Post a Comment