Interesting legends of Holi that are
most commonly cited revolve around the soul bond of Lord Krishna and
Radha, Prahlad, the child-devotee of Lord Vishnu, Kamdeva, the Indian
Cupid-God and Dhundhi, the immortal ogress. All these legends focus on
different aspects of Holi that can be attributed to them. The romantic
fervor of Holi festival is derived from the love pranks of Radha and
Krishna while the story of Kamdeva gives a clue to celebrate this
festival to welcome the Spring. The story of Prahlad encompasses the
religious nature of the festival and the origin of Holi while the tale
of Dhundhi gives a reason to use rude words and play pranks to the young
boys of the village.
Bhakt Prahlad Holika
There was a mighty demon king named Hirnakashyipu who had won all the
three worlds of heaven, earth and hell and had thus, become very proud.
He assumed that he could defeat even Lord Vishnu with his valor. He went
to the extent that he had enforced a law that everybody would worship
him instead of gods and deities. However, his little son Prahlad refused
to accept his commands and continued to worship Lord Vishnu with
complete devotion. Infuriated by this defiance of his son, he ordered
his soldiers to throw him down a hill. Praying fervently and having full
faith in Lord Vishnu, Prahlad did not retract from his word. True to his
faith, Lord Vishnu rescued him at the last moment.
Invincible
Dhundhi
During the reign of Prithu, there was a terrible ogress called Dhundhi,
who loved to devour innocent children. She had performed severe penances
and had won several boons from the deities that made her almost
invincible. However, due to a curse of Lord Shiva, she was not so immune
to the pranks and abuses of young boys as she was to weapons and arrows.
One day, the courageous boys of the village decided to get rid of her
forever and chase her away from the village forever. They got
intoxicated on bhaang and drunk and then followed Dhundi to the limits
of the village, beating drums, making loud noise, shouting obscenities
and hurling insults at her and continued doing this until she left the
village for good. This is the reason that even today young boys are
allowed to indulge themselves in rowdiness, using rude words and
intoxication on Holi.
Love
Play of Radha Krishna
Lord Krishna has often been portrayed as a naughty prankster in his
childhood and a lover-boy in his youth. His beloved Radha and the
cowherd girls 'Gopis' in general loved him even more for his pranks and
eve teasing. The Holi of Braj is famous all over India for its intimate
connection with the divine deities and their love plays. It is said that
when Krishna was a young boy, he asked the reason for his dark color
while Radha was so fair. His mother Yashoda playfully suggested that he
should smear color on Radha's face too and change her complexion to any
color he wanted. Captivated by the idea, Krishna proceeded to do so and
thus, introduced the play of colors on Holi.
Sacrifice
of Kamadeva
According to Hindu mythology, the world is looked after the Trinity of
Gods - Lord Brahma, the creator; Lord Vishnu, the nurturer; and Lord
Shiva, the destroyer. According to a legend, Goddess Sati, the daughter
of Daksha Prajapati, one of the first sons of Lord Brahma, married Lord
Shiva against the wishes of her father. Thus, Daksha did not invite her
and her husband to a grand yagya arranged by him. When Sati came to know
about the event in her father's house, she thought it to be a slip of
mind and proceeded to participate in the event despite the warnings of
her husband. But once she reached there, she realized her fault and was
infuriated by the insult of her husband. As a penance for her
disobedience, she entered the fire. When Lord Shiva came to know of her
sudden demise, he was furious. Even after he controlled his anger, he
started a severe meditation and renounced all work.
