Holika

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Holika (Sanskrit: होलिका) was a demoness in Hindu scripture who was burnt to death with help of God Brahma by Prahlad. She was the sister of King Hiranyakashipu.

The story of Holika's conflict signifies the triumph of good over evil, and death of Holika is celebrated as Holi.

Mythology

According to Hindu scripture, there was a king named Hiranyakashipu who, like a lot of demons and Asuras, had the intense desire to be immortal. To fulfill this desire he performed the required Tapas (penance) until he was granted a boon by Brahma. Since the God's do not usually grant the boon of immortality, he used his guile and cunning to get a boon which he thought made him immortal. The boon was that the king could be killed by neither a human being nor an animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at day nor at night, neither by astra (weapons that are launched) nor by any shastra (weapons that are hand held), and neither on land nor in water or air. As this wish was granted, it seemed impossible for Hiranyakashyapu to be killed and this made him feel invincible. Hiranyakashyapu decreed that he be worshiped as a God and this was enforced to the extent of being obeyed by everyone in his kingdom with the exception of his son Prahlad. Prahlad refused to see his father as a god and stayed devoted to Lord Vishnu.

This made Hiranyakashipu very angry and he made various attempts to kill Prahlad. During a particular attempt on Prahlad's life, King Hiranyakashyapu called upon his sister Holika for help. Holika had a special gift or garment that prevented her from being harmed by fire. Hiranyakashyapu asked her to sit on a bonfire with Prahlad on her lap in the hope that this would kill Prahlad. However, both the brother and sister had forgot that Holika could only enter the fire alone or she would perish. As Prahlad chanted Vishnu's name, Holika was burnt to her death and Prahlad was spared.

Origin of Holika Dahan

Main article: Holi

Holika Dahan, Kathamandu, Nepal

For many traditions in Hinduism, Holi celebrates the death of Holika in order to save Prahlad and we see where Holi gets its name. The night before Holi pyres are burnt in North India in keeping with this tradition. It should also be noted that in some parts of India the day is actually called Holika^{[citation needed]}. There are other activities associated with the story of Prahlad, but the burning of Holika is the one that we can most directly associate with Holi. Fire burnt on the eve of Holi (Holika Dahan) symbolizes the burning of Holika. The story as a whole is testament to the power of devotion (bhakta) over the evil represented by King Hiranyakashyapu, as Prahlad never lost his faith.

The burning of Holika is the most common mythological explanation for the celebration of Holi. In different parts of India varying reasons are given for Holika's death. Among those are:

• Vishnu stepped in and hence Holika burnt.
• Holika was given the power by Brahma on the understanding that it can never be used to bring harm to anyone,
• Holika was a good person and it was the clothes that she wore that gave her the power and knowing that what was happening was wrong, she gave them to Prahlad and hence died herself.
• Holika wore a shawl that would protect her from fire. So when she was asked to sit in the fire with Prahlad she put on the shawl and sat Prahlad down in her lap. When the fire was lit Prahlad began praying to Lord Vishnu. So Lord Vishnu summoned a gust of wind to blow the shawl off of Holika and on to Prahlad, saving him from the flames of the bonfire and burning Holika to her death.

External links

• Origins of Holi at BBC.