Holika Dahan Images HD -- Sacred Bonfire Night Before Holi

Share

About this image

On the eve of Holi, the night belongs to fire. This powerful HD image captures Holika Dahan -- the sacred ceremonial bonfire at the heart of the Holi festival -- in all its dramatic glory. Towering flames in orange, gold, and deep red roar against the dark starry sky, sending showers of sparks upward into the night. The effigy of demoness Holika is visible within the fire, and devotees gathered in silhouette around the blaze perform the sacred parikrama (circumambulation), walking clockwise around the fire as an act of devotion and purification. A full moon hangs in the sky above -- Holika Dahan always falls on the full moon night of Phalguna. The story behind this fire is one of the most important in Hindu devotion. Prahlada, the young son of the demon king Hiranyakashipu, was an unwavering devotee of Lord Vishnu despite his father's commands to worship him instead. Hiranyakashipu ordered his sister Holika -- who possessed a divine boon making her immune to fire -- to sit with Prahlada in a pyre. But divine protection worked in reverse: Prahlada emerged unscathed, protected by Vishnu, while Holika burned despite her boon. Her boon had a condition she violated -- it was only valid if she entered fire alone. This victory of dharma over adharma, of divine love over tyranny, is what Holika Dahan commemorates. The ashes of the Holika fire are considered sacred -- people take them home and apply them to their foreheads. The ceremony is performed by priests at sunset to midnight across all of India, with the largest celebrations in Mathura, Vrindavan, and Braj. Free HD download.

Tags

Explore Hindu