Publish Date: | Thu, 10 Mar 2022 06:19 AM (IST)
Bhopal, Navdunia Representative. Today is the Ashtami date of Shukla Paksha of Falgun month. This date is considered to be the beginning of Holashtak, which lasts till the full moon of Falgun. According to religious beliefs, auspicious, auspicious works are considered taboo in these eight days of full moon from Ashtami date. At the same time, it is also forbidden for the newlyweds to see the first Holi of the in-laws. It is better not to do any auspicious work like engagement, marriage, home entry, home initiation, shaving ceremony, purchase of new vehicle etc. in Holashtak. This time March 17 will be the full moon date, on which Holika Dahan will take place. According to religious beliefs, with Holika Dahan, the effect of inauspicious combination of Holashtak ends, therefore it is better to do auspicious, auspicious work only after this. In the eight days of Holashtak, the importance of chanting the Guru Mantra and special practice has been told. It is a belief that after eight days of Holashtak, if one does night spiritual practice to get the desired results, then it results quickly.
Mythology related to Holashtak
There are mainly two mythological stories in the context of Holashtak. According to a legend, in the first eight days of Holi from Ashtami to Poornima, the child Prahlad, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, was subjected to a lot of torture by his father, the demon king Hiranyakashipu. But Prahlad did not stop worshiping God. Enraged by this, Hiranyakashyap made all kinds of efforts to kill Prahlad, but Prahlad’s hair also did not get damaged. Eventually Hiranyakashipu called sister Holika and ordered Prahlad to be burnt alive by sitting on her lap. Holika had a boon that fire cannot harm her. But by the grace of God Prahlad was saved, while Holika was burnt to ashes in the fire. From that day the tradition of Holika Dahan started.
At the same time, according to another legend, the god of love, Kamadeva, had dissolved the penance of Lord Shiva absorbed in the samadhi. Enraged by this, Lord Shiva opened his third eye and burnt Kamdev to ashes on the eighth day of Falgun. After this, Kamadeva’s wife Rati worshiped Shiva and pleaded for Kamadeva to be revived, which she accepted. On this decision of Lord Shiva, his devotees celebrated with pomp. According to this belief, the tradition of celebrating Dhulendi festival started, with which Holashtak ends and auspicious works begin.
Posted By: Ravindra Soni