On Saturday, June 25, a group of 45 scholars celebrated Holi, an annual religious festival celebrated by Hindus. It is celebrated by throwing colored powder and water at each other. Along with covering friends with bright colors, scholars also learned the history behind Holi.
The origin of the Holi festival is the legend of Prince Prahalad. Prahalad's father, the king, was against the worship of any god. He wanted the people to worship him. However, his son was a devout follower of the god Vishnu and refused to worship his father. His father became angry and attempted to kill his son multiple times. However, each time Prahalad was saved by Vishnu. Once, the king ordered Holika, a demoness invincible to fire, to drag Prahalad through fire. Vishnu intervened, saved Prahalad from the fire and allowed Holika to burn.
The Holi festival is the celebration of the death of Holika, and the triumph of good over evil.
By Claire Banderas
Special thanks to Adithi Vellore for sharing the legend of Prince Prahalad.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.