PARAKUNNATH SREE VETTAKKORUMAKAN PAYYAN KSHETHRAM (TEMPLE), AROLI, KANNUR, KERALA: Dev Deepavali, the Diwali of the Gods, is the festival of Kartik Poornima celebrated in Varanasi.

Monday 14 November 2016

Dev Deepavali, the Diwali of the Gods, is the festival of Kartik Poornima celebrated in Varanasi.

Dev Deepavali, the Diwali of the Gods, is the festival of Kartik Poornima celebrated in Varanasi. It falls on the full moon of Kartik month, (14Nov-2016). The steps of all the ghats on the riverfront of holy Ganga are lit with more than a million earthen lamps (diyas) in honour of Goddess Ganga. The gods are believed to descend to Earth to bathe in the Ganges on this day. The festival is also observed as Tripura Purnima Snan. During Dev Deepawali, houses are decorated with oil lamps and coloured 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 main rituals performed by devotees consist of kartik snan (taking a holy bath in the holy Ganga during Kartik) and deepdan (offering of oil lighted lamps) to Ganga in the evening followed by aarti. The 5 day festivals starts on Prabodhini Ekadashi and concludes on Kartik Poornima. People observe fast on Kartik Purnima. They worship both Shri Vishnu and Lord Shiva on this day of Dev Deepawali, which is also spelled as Dev Diwali. It is celebrated to mark the victory of Lord Shiva over demon Tripurasur. Hence Dev Deepawali Utsav is also known as Tripurotsav which is observed on the auspicious day of Kartik Purnima.!