দীপাবলি: রামের প্রত্যাবর্তন, লক্ষ্মীর আগমন ও পবিত্র প্রদীপের পাঁচটি উপাদান

The Myth and Story: From Ayodhya to the Cosmos

The most widely known story of Diwali is from the Valmiki Ramayana: after fourteen years of exile and the defeat of the demon king Ravana in Lanka, Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya with Sita and Lakshmana on the new moon night of Kartik. The people of Ayodhya, unable to wait for dawn, lit oil lamps (diyas) along every street, rooftop, and doorstep to guide their beloved king home through the darkness. This act of collective illumination — a city welcoming its righteous king with light — became the template for Diwali. But the festival carries other sacred stories too. In the Mahabharata tradition, the Pandavas returned from their thirteen years of exile on this same day, welcomed by a kingdom that had longed for their return. In the Shakta tradition, this is the night when Goddess Kali danced her terrible dance on the battlefield after slaying Raktabija — and Shiva lay down in her path to absorb her frenzy. The image of Kali with her foot on Shiva's chest is the icon of Kali Puja performed simultaneously in Bengal. In the Jain tradition, Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara, attained Moksha on this day. Each tradition adds a layer, but all converge on the same axis: the power of consciousness and light to overcome ignorance and darkness.