Hindu Feasts, Fasts and Ceremonies/Chapter 8
8. Holi and Kamandi
IN the old days when demons were very powerful in India there was a she-demon named Holika. She was the most wicked of her race. Every day she would visit some town or village and carry away some of its children to feast upon them. These cruelties increased so much that the whole world complained to the king of the Rakshasas. Even that monarch who belonged to a proverbially cruel race was moved when he heard that all the children were being thus eaten up by Holika. He did not like to displease a female member of his own class. So he ordered that, as Holika had cultivated a special taste for children’s flesh, the people should give her one child for her food every day, making their own arrangements to do so. Even this they considered a great favour and each house resolved to send by turn one child a day. When one village had thus had its turn, the next village or city, as the case may be, took up the arrangement. ‘Thus several years passed. One day the lot fell upon a poor old woman and her grandson had to be sent up to Holika the next morning. That washer only child then—her son and her daughter-in-law having gone away long ago to the land from the borders of which no traveller returns. Her sorrow knew no bounds. She was soon to lose the last male member of her family. Her extreme sorrow moved the heart of every one, and Providence too seemed to pity her. It so happened that a holy mendicant chanced to pass by that village accidentally that day. He heard moanings in that old woman’s house. He went to her and on making sympathetic enquiries learnt the cause. He wasa holy person and after some contemplation found out the way by which he could save not only that old woman but the whole world from Holika’s havocs. Said he:—"My good old woman! do not fear. Holika will die to-morrow if you only follow my advice. If she hears vile and indecent abuses and obscene expressions, she will fall down and die. It is so decreed. You should therefore collect all the children of the village and when Holika turns up to-morrow to demand your grandson, these children must severely rebuke her, using obscene and indecent expressions and making similar signs and symbols. She will pursue the children. They must not at all be afraid of her, but must continue to pour out vile abuses. And as it is so decreed, she must fall down dead.” Having said this, the mendicant went away.
The old woman circulated the news in the village. As those days were days of strong beliefs, the villagers collected together all the boys and girls and backed them up secretly to attack Holika when pointed out. The plan worked excellently well and Holika died. The children joined together and cremated her body. This event is supposed to have happened on the full-moon day of the white-half of Phalguna, corresponding to the latter half of the month of March. And the Holi feast of the Hindus originates from this legend.
In Madras the Mahrattas and Lalas—mostly non-Brahmans—observe this feast with all sorts of hideousness. The Brahmans—Mahrattas—celebrate it by a feast. In other parts of India all castes more or less observe the Holi. There is no religious ceremony of any kind connected with this, but there is more than any reasonable amount of foolish practices associated with it. During the observance of this feast the youngsters of the Lala sect in Madras make, in each house or in common for a whole street, an image of Holika, sing obscene songs before it, offer sweetmeats, fruits and other things in mock-worship of the image, exchange horse-play. compliments by syringing coloured-water on each other’s clothes and spend the whole period of the feast like merry butterflies singing and chatting and abusing. Indecent language is allowed to be indulged in during the continuance of this jolly occasion. At about 1 a.m., on the full-moon day, the image of Holika is burnt, and children sit round the embers and beat their mouths making a mock-mourning sound. Tender children are shown over the fire for a second by the fond mothers and this process is believed to remove all kinds of danger from the babies.
Such is the origin of this feast, which, however, very few happen to know. Most of the observers of this feast imagine that the object they worship is Cupid and that the mock-funs they observe are on account of Kama, the God of Love. And this feast which is observed as the Holi in Madras and Northern India is known as Kaman-pandikai in the South. And the images of Cupid and his wife Rati are painted, worshipped and burnt on the same day and hour as the image of Holika. And it is also most curious to see that this Kaman-pandikai in the South is observed more by the adults than by the children who also take part in it. The burning of Cupid by Siva has been sung by more than one Hindu poet; but none has done it so beautifully as Kalidasa in his Kumarasambhava, or the "Birth of the War-god.” The story briefly runs thus: There was a mighty Titan in times of yore named Tarakasura. He was such a great terror to the celestials and a fortiori to the mortals. One day he is said to have invaded the Divine world and carried away all the damsels from Indra’s harem. The sun-god by his order shone like the moon. The wind-god was by a similar command wafting soft and sweet breeze ever by the side of this Titan. The celestials were terrified at his havocs. The Divine assembly met to concert measures to put down Taraka. Brihaspati, Indra’s minister, rose up and said that the offspring of Siva and Parvati—Kumara—can destroy that powerful Titan. But Siva was a sage who was performing penance. How to make him court Parvati? The council sent for Cupid and he boastingly appeared before the lord of the celestials and said that he would bind any being, whether God or man, by the chain of woman’s love. Indra was greatly pleased. It was just what he wanted. So he sent Cupid to Siva, requesting him to dart his arrows rather cautiously, as Siva was no ordinary God. And Cupid too, when he was told the name of the deity that he had to conquer by his arrows, became terrified. He was unable to withdraw. So he went to the hermitage of Siva. At Cupid’s approach, the birds and beasts of the forest danced with joy at the sudden setting-in of the Spring season. The drone drank the honey which remained after the bee had first drunk to her fill. Parvati was helping Siva with flowers, fruits and other things which were required for that god’s penance. Cupid considered that everything was extremely favourable to him. He fixed the arrow of love to his bow and was taking his aim at Siva. The ever-holy mind of Siva wavered a bit and he cast his looks on Parvati, who appeared all the more beautiful that day decorated from top to toe with all the flowers that Spring had brought into existence in that hermitage. Then Siva suddenly regaining his balance of mind, laughed at his own weakness and looked round to see the cause of it. He saw Cupid at a distance. The celestials who were watching from above noticed the rage of Siva. "Please subdue your anger and save poor Cupid,” begged they. But before that noise reached the ears of Siva, a small spark of fire got unloosened from the third eye in his forehead and left Cupid an image of ashes. This event is believed to have occurred on the full-moon day of Phalguna. It is the death of Cupid in this unhappy manner that is celebrated as Kaman-pandikai in South India. A flag called the flag of Cupid is left planted for four or five days before the full-moon day, in a prominent place in every street, is worshipped with love songs and other frolics and is burnt on the full-moon day. As both these events, the death of Holika and the death of Cupid, occurred on the same day, this feast is called the Holt feast by some and as Kaman-pandikai by others, the first five days’ feast before the full-moon being called the Holi-pandikai and the next three days as the Kaman-pandikai. As the Holi feast is celebrated to remove the evils of youngsters and children, Kaman-pandikai is supposed to be observed to remove the evils that may accrue to adults and grown-up men by the setting-in of the Spring. If they go wrong their body will be reduced to ash as was Cupid’s is the moral.
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