WHY LAKSHMI POOJAN ON DIWALI ?

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Diwali is believed to have its origin in the 'Rituparva', the harvest

festival of early Indian agrarian society, thousands of years ago.

With time, several events became related with the celebration of

Diwali apart from the returning of Rama and Sita to their kingdom

after fourteen years of exile as related in Ramayana. There have been

references to the celebration of Diwali in Skand Purana, Padm Purana

and Bhavish Purana, each citing different opinions regarding the

origin of Diwali. One of the legends presents Diwali as the

commemoration of the day when the great King Prithu successfully

sought out the means of extracting crops and wealth from the earth,

may be referring to the beginning of the art of agriculture and metal

extraction from the ores.

 

The story of lakshmi pooja goes like this. It is believed that when

the demons and deities were churning the ocean together to find out

the 'drink of immortality', it was on this day that Goddess Lakshmi

manifested herself and thus Diwali is celebrated to commemorate the

birth of the Goddess of Wealth. Another legend says that on the night

prior to the celebration of Diwali, Lord Krishna has killed the demon

Narakasura freeing the earth from his terrors and liberating the

16000 princesses that were abducted by him. Thus, on the next day

(Diwali), the people illuminated their houses and celebrated to

express their joy and relief. Mahabharata mentions the return of

Pandavas to their kingdom from their 13-year long exile on this very

day. Vikramidtya, the great benevolent king and warrior was believed

to be enthroned on Diwali. Whatever the reasons may be, however,

Diwali, has always been associated with the worshipping of Lakshmi.

One other legend connecting Lakshmi to Diwali is mentioned in

Sanatkumar Samhita, which says that it was on this day that Lord

Vishnu liberated his consort from the captivity of Bali, the mighty

demon-king after a long period.