To Commemorate Victory of Prahlad's Faith and Unwavering Devotion : Victory of Good over evil ....
According to Shreemad Bhaagavatam or the Bhaagavata Puraana, Prahlad, the son of the demon king Hiranyakashyapa (also called Hiranyakashyapu) and Kayaadhu was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu (the Hindu Deity of Protection, Preservation and Sustainability of Creation), much to the dislike and disapproval of his father.
Hiranyakashyapa tries hard to dissuade Prahlad from worshiping Lord Vishnu, but in vain. So, he imprisons Prahlad. His attempts to poison Prahlad could not succeed, as Vishnu protects his little devotee. He tries to get Prahlad run over by mad elephants, but again Prahlad escapes.
Then, Hiranyakashyapa plans to burn Prahlad alive. Hiranyakashyapa's sister, Holika had received a boon as a result of a penance that fire would not burn her. Hiranyakashyapa asks Holika to sit on a pyre with Prahlad in her lap, so that the fire set to the pyre could burn Prahlad off to death. On the night of Poornimaa (full moon night) in the month of Faagun, Holika sits on a pyre with little Prahlad sitting in her lap and the pyre is set ablaze. Much against the plan, it so happens that Holika burns down to ashes and Prahlad remains unaffected by the fire.
Thus, the pure, innocent devotion of the little devotee stands victorious before the crooked conspiracies of his evil-minded father.
Then onwards, every year, on the Poornimaa (full moon night) of the month of Faagun , Holi is celebrated to commemorate this victory of devotion, love, faith and hope over evil.
A pyre is lighted and worshipped to commemorate the victory of little Prahlad's devotion. On the next day, people play with colours, eat various sweet delicacies and dance and sing to celebrate further.
Holika Dahan - In Memory of the Great Victory of Devotion - Prahlad survives, while his aunt, Holika burns down to ashes in spite of the boon that fire would not burn her ....
A Typical Holi Bonfire with people offering prayers and pooja ....
Another Reason for Holi Celebration : The God of Love comes back to life ....
On the fifth day of the Shukla Paksha (brighter fortnight, meaning from new moon to full moon day) of the month of Maagha as per the Indian / Hindu Lunar calendar, that falls around the end of January to middle of February as per Gregorian calendar, the festival of Vasanta Panchami is celebrated to mark the beginning of Spring - the season of Love and Joy. It is also the day of Saraswati Pooja, as the Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom, Maa Saraswati is worshipped on this day to begin the season of Love - Spring - with prayers to be guided by Knowledge and Wisdom on the path of Love ....
According to some ancient Indian scriptures, called the Puraanas dedicated to Lord Shiva, such as the Shiva Puraana, Lord Shiva had burnt the Lord of Love, Kaamadeva on the day of Vasanta Panchami. The story goes like this -
Sati, the daughter of Daksha Prajaapati, was the consort of Lord Shiva.
Once, Daksha Prajaapati arranges a big Yagya (Pooja / festivity) in which he does not invite Shiva and Sati, as he was not pleased with their marriage.
Sati could not hold herself from going to her father's place. When Shiva tries to stop her, she argues that a daughter has the right and responsibility to be at her father's place and does not require a formal invitation to remain present in festivities at her parents' place .... Shiva sends her with some of his Ganas (attendants).
During the celebrations, Sati finds herself and her husband's honour being avoided / ignored and insulted. Furious, she immolates herself from the fire that sparks out of her Yogic powers, in protest ....
The celebrations turn into destruction .... Shiva, maddened by the grief of the loss of Sati, moves around with Sati's burnt dead body in hands .... It was as if the whole Creation was immersed in grief and darkness ....
To bring Shiva back to Himself, Lord Vishnu sends his Chakra (Discus), which disintegrates Sati's dead body into 51 pieces that fall at different places all across the land below. These 51 places are the 51 Shakti Peethas (the significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the Goddess-focused Hindu tradition).
Distressed Shiva slips into deep meditation after this incident. Sati reincarnates as the daughter of Himaalaya and Mainaa named Paarvati. Inspired by Sage Naarada, she performs penance to win Shiva over as her husband.
On the other side, a demon named Taarakaasur who had performed very severe penance to receive a boon that he could be killed only the son of Shiva, started wrecking havoc on innocent lives on the Earth.
The Devas (Divine Beings or Gods) get worried and see that it is imperative to awaken Shiva from his deep meditation, so that His much needed marriage with Paarvati materializes. They request the Lord of Love, Kaamadeva to awaken Shiva. Kaamadev, with his wife Devi Rati and his team of Spring and its beautiful creations cast spells on Shiva. Finally, Kaamadeva shoots his arrow of Love into Shiva's heart and a startled, angry Shiva opens His eyes. The flames from his Third eye (at the center of his forehead, between his eyebrows) burn Kaamadeva to ashes.
The other Devas come to the spot and explain Shiva about the urgencies of the situation. Shiva agrees to marry Paarvati. An aggrieved Rati pleads for bringing her husband Kaamadeva back to life and prays for forty days. It is said that on the full moon night of the succeeding month of Faagun, forty days after Vasanta Panchami, when Kaamadeva was burnt to ashes, Shiva, moved to compassion by Rati's prayers, brings Kaamadeva back to life (or promises his reincarnation and their reunion, as per some texts / scriptures). That was the day of Holi. So, Holi is the festival of Love.
This belief is popular especially in the Southern parts of India (in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh), among devotees of Shiva and Shakti. Here, the lighting of the Holi bonfire is called "Kaamadahanam", meaning incineration of Kaamadeva .... The sacrifice of Kaamadeva is thus prayerfully commemorated.
