Dev Deepawali: When Gods Descend From Heavens To The Ghats Of Varanasi

According to Shiv Purana, Dev Deepawali is celebrated to mark the victory of Lord Vishnu after he killed the demon, Tripura Sur, on the day, who tortured the gods during the Kartik month.

Dev Deepawali also is known as the Diwali of Gods, a festival which is celebrated only in Varanasi. The festival is celebrated 15 days after Diwali and falls on the full-moon night of the Hindu month Kartik, which generally falls between November-December. According to Hindu belief, on this festival, the Hindu Gods and deities descend from Heaven in invisible forms take bath in the holy river the Ganges and ensure the salvation of the devotees involved in the Maha Aarti. The festival of Gods not only just finds a place in the heritage culture of the ancient city of Banaras or Kashi but is also mentioned in the Shiv Purana a sacred Hindu scripture. Diwali is celebrated to mark the homecoming of Lord Ram after he killed Ravan and his exile from Ayodhya. According to Shiv Purana, Dev Deepawali is celebrated to mark the victory of Lord Vishnu after he killed the demon, Tripura Sur, on the day, who tortured the gods during the Kartik month. In order to celebrate the festival of Gods, all the 84 ghats from Ravidas Ghat to Rajghat on the riverfront of the river Ganges are decorated and illuminated with millions of diyas (earthen lamps) creating a picturesque scene, that makes the scene looks like a city in heaven. While the houses in the city are decorated with oil lamps and colored designs on their front doors. Firecrackers are burnt at night, processions of decorated deities are taken out into the streets of Varanasi, and oil lamps are set afloat on the river. The tradition of lighting the lamps on the Dev Deepawali festival day was first started at the Panchganga Ghat only ghat in the city that houses a mosque, in 1985. Apart from diyas, laser light shows are also being used to decorate the ghats, light and sound shows, boat rides, and the evening Aarti at the Dashaswamedh ghat of the city catch major attractions on the festival. This year the Dev Deepawali in Kashi is catching up the attention of the country, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi who represents the city in Parliament will be a part of the celebration. This is the first time, more than 15 lakh diyas a being lit on both sides of the river Ganges. According to the PM’s schedule, he will be spending around seven hours in the city and will be taking part in the laser light show and Deepotsav in to celebrate to the festival of Gods.