Kartik Purnima is a festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains on the full moon day of the lunar month of Kartik Maas. The Hindus, celeberate it as the day when Lord Shiva killed the demon Tripurasura, a collective name given to Vidyunmali, Tarakaksha, and Viryavana who controlled the whole world after defeating the gods and created three cities in space known as Tripura, with a single arrow. This event is called Tripurari Purnima or Deva-Deepavali, the festival of lights of the gods.
For the Sikhs Kartik Purnima holds great significance as Guru Nanak’s birthday is celebrated on Kartik Purnima. This day is celebrated by Sikhs around the world as Guru Nanak’s Prakash Utsav or Guru Nanak Gurpurab. His message of Ik Onkar, meaning ‘One God’, who is present in all his creations and is the eternal Truth. This principle underscores the belief in a single Supreme Being who created and sustains everything in the universe. His teachings are very relevant in the contemporary world torn apart with wars & violence.
If all of us imbibe the message of “Ik Onkar” and understand that all humans are equal and interconnected, as they are all children of the same Creator people can foster a sense of unity, harmony, and compassion among themselves and with the world around them.
The Jain’s celebrate this day as the festival of lights, when they commemorate the attainment of nirvana by their 24th Tirthankara, Mahavira.
During a calendar year many festivals are celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, & Jains on the same day for different reasons, this shows that we have a common thread that runs through the Indic religions, Hinduism, Sikhism & Jainism are shining gem stones in the grand necklace of religions in India.
There is immense importance given to charity “Daan” during festivals. I will soon write about the significance of “Daan” during festivals.
