Kartik Purnima/Karthika Deepam: A festival that connects Hindus across Bharat, unites the nation

Quam-Red intellectuals, in their desperation to divide Hindus, usually claim that there is no Hinduism as such since Hindus from one state to another follow different customs. As usual, they are ignorant about the common threads that connect us as a nation and as a civilisation. Festivals are something that connects our cultures, spread over regions. The problem arises when we look at things via the lens of Semitic religions. One such auspicious occasion is Kartika Purnima, celebrated by all Indic religions.

Kartik Purnima is a Hindu, Jain and Sikh cultural festival, celebrated on the Purnima (full moon day) or the 15th lunar day of Kartik. The festival is also known as Tripuri Purnima or Tripurari Purnima and Dev Diwali. Karthika Deepam is a related festival in South India and Sri Lanka. Houses are illuminated with Diyas to celebrate this auspicious day.

Dev-Deepawali Mahotsav is a grand celebration organised in Varanasi. The steps in all the ghats on the banks of holy river Ganga are lit with more than a million diyas. This year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adithyanath took part in the celebration. More than 15 lakh lamps were lit and the ghats were beautifully decorated. In Kerala, special prayers were held at temples.

This shows how connected we are, from north to south. Variation can be observed in the way festival is celebrated as such. These celebrations signify the firmness with which our culture stands, defying the centuries of invasion which couldn’t destroy it.