Bali Pratipada also known as Bali Padyami or
Padva is the fourth Day of five day Diwali Festival. It commemorates victory of
Lord Vishnu in Vamana Avatar over demon-King Bali.
According to the legends, the day is
celebrated in honour of the notional return of the demon king Bali to earth.
The day is celebrated on the first lunar day
of Shukla Paksha (Bright fortnight) in the Hindu calendar month of Kartika.
This is the half among the three-and-a-half auspicious days in Hindu Astrology
(sade teen muhurtas), the other three being Gudhi Padwa, Akshaya Tritiya and
Vijayadashami. According to Hindu mythology, Bali Padyami commemorates the
victory of god Vishnu in his dwarf incarnation Vamana, the fifth incarnation of
the Dashavatara (ten major incarnations of Vishnu) defeating Bali, and pushing
him to the nether world. But while doing so Lord Vishnu bestowed Bali with a
boon to return to earth for one day on this day to be honoured and celebrated
for his devotion to the Lord and for his noble deeds to his people.
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BALI PRATIPADA CELEBRATIONS :
On this day people get us early and perform
ritualistic oil bath (Abhyang Snan) and then wear new clothes.
People decorate
the main hall of the house with a Rangoli or Kolam drawn with powder of rice in
different colours, thereafter Bali and his wife Vindhyavali are worshiped.
Symbolically, seven forts are also built out of clay or cow dung to worship
Bali. In the evening, as night falls, door sills of every house and temple are
lighted with lamps arranged in rows.
It should be noted that the same day is
celebrated as Govardhan Puja in North India and New Year’s Day Padva in Gujarat
and Rajasthan. Their celebrations and legends are described in other articles
seperately.
In Maharashtra, it is celebrated as Padva or Bali Pratipada. The day is linked
to worship of king Bali. Men present gifts to their wives on this day.
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