Diwali is celebrated primarily by followers of the Hindu, Jain, and Sikh faiths, and while the lamps look the same from outside, the events each community commemorates are entirely distinct. Hindus most commonly link the festival to the return of Rama to Ayodhya, though regional legends also connect it to Krishna's slaying of the demon Naraka and to the worship of Lakshmi. Jains observe the day as the anniversary of Mahavira's nirvana, his spiritual liberation, in 527 BCE. Sikhs mark Bandi Chhor Divas, commemorating Guru Hargobind's release from Mughal imprisonment in 1619. Understanding these separate histories explains why one autumn festival, stretching back more than 2,500 years by some accounts, carries such different meanings across India's religious traditions.
The Five Days of Diwali: Shared Traditions and Rituals
The name itself describes the festival's central act. Diwali derives from the Sanskrit Deepavali, meaning "row of lights," from deepa (lamp, light, or symbolically, knowledge) and avali (row or series), as the heritage encyclopedia Sahapedia explains. Ancient Indian texts, including the Padma Purana, Vishnu Purana, and Kalika Purana, along with Harsha's play Nagananda and stone and copper inscriptions, refer to the festival under names such as Deepotsava, Deepavali, and Divalige.
The celebrations span a sequence commonly counted as five days, beginning with Dhanteras on the thirteenth day of the fortnight ending in the new moon, or amavasya, and closing with Bhai Dooj, a festival dedicated to celebrating brothers. The observance bridges the last two days of the month of Ashwin and continues into the month of Kartik. Whatever legend a family honors, the shared vocabulary of the festival is light itself: rows of lamps that give the holiday its name, arranged to illuminate the darkest night of the lunar fortnight.
Diwali in Hinduism: Diverse Legends and Deities
Hindu tradition offers no single origin story, and scholars caution against forcing one. The return of Rama to Ayodhya is, as Sahapedia notes, the most popular lore associated with Diwali celebrations, but it is far from the only one. Writing in JSTOR Daily, Noor Chawla describes historical accounts of the festival as "an autumnal feast attributed to the celebration of various divinities, as of Lakshmi and of Bhavani, and also in honour of Krishna's slaying of the demon Naraka, and the release of 16,000 maidens, his prisoners."
That plurality is not a sign of confusion but of accumulation. As Sahapedia observes, the celebration "has greatly evolved, with various cross-cultural and -religious influences and stories of origin." The timing of celebrations and the specific rituals performed often varied among different communities and in different parts of the country, so a household honoring Lakshmi and one commemorating Krishna's victory could observe the same festival in meaningfully different ways. The common thread is the theme of light prevailing over darkness, expressed through whichever narrative a region or family holds dear.
Diwali in Jainism: Commemorating Mahavira's Nirvana
For Jains, Diwali is anchored to a precise moment in their tradition's history: the nirvana, or spiritual liberation, of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara. According to Jain tradition, the practice of lighting lamps first began on the day of Mahavira's nirvana in 527 BCE, when eighteen kings who had gathered for his final teachings issued a proclamation that lamps be lit in remembrance of the "great light, Mahavira."
This traditional belief in the festival's origin, and its particular significance to Jains, is reflected in historic Jain artworks such as paintings. The Jain observance thus differs in both substance and tone from Hindu celebrations of the same season; as Chawla notes in her historical account, Diwali as celebrated by followers of the Jain religion differed from that of the Hindus. Yet the focus of the Jain Diwali remains the dedication to Mahavira, making the lighting of lamps an act of remembrance of a teacher's final liberation rather than a welcome for a returning king.
Diwali in Sikhism: Celebrating Bandi Chhor Divas
Sikhs observe a festival that coincides with Diwali but carries its own name and history: Bandi Chhor Divas, the day of liberation. The occasion commemorates the release of Guru Hargobind from Mughal imprisonment in 1619. The coincidence of dates means that Sikh homes and gurdwaras are illuminated at the same season as Hindu and Jain ones, but the event being remembered belongs to a comparatively recent and specific chapter of history rather than to ancient mythology.
This distinctiveness matters. Bandi Chhor Divas is not simply Diwali observed by Sikhs; it is a separate commemoration with its own sixth- and seventeenth-century context, layered onto a season already dense with festivals of light. The overlap illustrates how the festival period absorbed and accommodated new meanings as India's religious communities encountered one another across centuries.
Diwali's Diverse Meanings Across Faiths
The table below compares the foundational narratives behind Diwali in each tradition, showing how the same festival of lights commemorates entirely different figures and events.
| Faith | Primary Significance | Key Figure/Event |
|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | Celebration of light over darkness, with multiple regional legends attached to the same festival. | The return of Rama to Ayodhya is the most popular lore; the festival also honors divinities such as Lakshmi and Bhavani, and Krishna's slaying of the demon Naraka and release of his 16,000 prisoners. |
| Jainism | Marks the nirvana, or spiritual liberation, of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara. | Mahavira's nirvana in 527 BCE; eighteen kings gathered for his final teachings proclaimed that lamps be lit in remembrance of the "great light, Mahavira." |
| Sikhism | Bandi Chhor Divas, a distinct observance coinciding with Diwali. | The release of Guru Hargobind from Mughal imprisonment in 1619. |
Read side by side, the rows show why no single origin story can claim the festival. The Hindu column alone contains several narratives, and scholars such as those cited by Chawla note that rituals and timing varied among communities and regions. The Jain and Sikh entries, by contrast, attach the festival season to specific, dated events in their own traditions' histories. The comparison clarifies that the shared lamps are the common language, while the meaning beneath them is particular to each faith.
Understanding Diwali's Enduring Message
Recognize that while Diwali is a shared festival of lights, its specific spiritual and historical significance varies profoundly across Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, reflecting each faith's unique tenets and historical milestones. The historical origins rest on textual and scholarly analysis—Puranas, inscriptions, and tradition—rather than definitive archaeological proof of ancient events, and this article covers only the most common legends, not every regional variation across India.
The measurable indicator of understanding is simple: the reader can identify the distinct reasons for celebration when encountering discussions or observances of Diwali by individuals from these different religious backgrounds—Rama's return or Krishna's victory for Hindus, Mahavira's nirvana for Jains, and Guru Hargobind's release for Sikhs. When the next Diwali arrives and lamps appear in windows of every tradition, the story behind each flame will tell you which community's history is being honored.
