Why Diwali Celebrates the Return From Vanvaas
In much of North India, Diwali marks the return of Ram, Sita and Lakshman to Ayodhya at the end of the fourteen-year exile. The city is said to have lit rows of oil lamps to welcome them, and the word Deepavali means precisely that: a row of lamps.
What the Lamps Were For
The traditional account is practical before it is symbolic. The return happened on a new moon night, the darkest of the month, and the lamps were lit so the returning party could find their way.
That detail is worth keeping, because it makes the gesture specific rather than generic. A city did not illuminate itself in celebration. It illuminated itself so someone could see the road.
What Was Being Celebrated
Not only the victory over Ravana. The exile had a fixed term, and Bharat had vowed to end his own life if Ram did not return on the appointed day. The lamps mark a deadline met as much as a war won, which is covered in Bharat and the throne he refused.
Fourteen years is long enough that the return was not assumed. That is why the arrival lands the way it does.
The Other Traditions
Diwali is not a single festival with one origin, and it is worth knowing the others rather than assuming the Ramayana account is universal.
In much of South India, Naraka Chaturdashi marks Krishna's defeat of Narakasura
In Gujarat and among trading communities, it opens the new financial year with Lakshmi Puja
Jains observe it as the day Mahavira attained moksha
Sikhs observe Bandi Chhor Divas, marking Guru Hargobind's release from imprisonment
In Bengal and parts of the east, the night is associated with Kali Puja
These are distinct traditions that coincide on the calendar rather than variations of one story.
Reading the Return
What makes the Diwali framing interesting is what it chooses to mark. Not the coronation, which comes after. Not the defeat of Ravana, which happens elsewhere. The arrival.
The whole shape of the epic is an interval and a return, and the festival marks the moment the interval closes. That structure is examined in what vanvaas teaches about withdrawal and return.
For anyone who has spent a long period outside the life they expected, the resonance of a light left on is not difficult to locate.
General background at Wikipedia's entry on Diwali.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Diwali celebrated?
In much of North India it marks Ram's return to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile. Other regions and religions mark different events on the same date, including Naraka Chaturdashi, Lakshmi Puja, Mahavira's moksha and Bandi Chhor Divas.
Why are lamps lit on Diwali?
The traditional account is that Ayodhya lit rows of oil lamps so the returning party could find their way on a new moon night. Deepavali literally means a row of lamps.
How long was Ram's exile before Diwali?
Fourteen years, as specified in the boon Kaikeyi claimed from King Dasharatha. The return had to occur exactly at the end of the fourteenth year.
Is Diwali only about the Ramayana?
No. Several distinct traditions coincide on the date, including Krishna's defeat of Narakasura in the south, Jain observance of Mahavira's moksha, and Sikh observance of Bandi Chhor Divas.
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