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Jashn-e-Chiraghan (Festival of Lights) - The Mughal version of Diwali.
The Mughal association of light with divine kingship may not have directly influenced the celebration of Diwali.

The Mughal rule, that went through various shifts by the 18th century and had politically eclipsed by the 19th, did not stop celebrating Diwali, nor did they leave their claim to the grand Mughal throne.

Although we have multiple references to fireworks in different parts of Hindustan, in the Mughal context, fireworks are depicted in the context of royal weddings, Shab-i-barat, as well as Diwali. Fazl, who constantly uses the metaphor of divine light, mentions both these festivals and their association with lights in Ain-i-Akbari. Jahāngīrnāma also has references of court celebrations of Diwali. Jahangir calls it a festival of the Vaishya caste (probably due to their association with Lakshmi puja) and the occasion to meet friends. The memoir also mentions gambling. He writes, ‘Since this caste’s livelihood is from profit and interest, they consider carrying accounts forward and opening new accounts on this day a good omen’.

Mughals continued celebrating Diwali with feasts and fireworks. It became a part of the cultural ethos that Mughals had developed in Hindustan. In fact, the Mughal successor states of the 18th century too continued parts of similar ideas they had built their empire on. Apart from the fireworks depicted in Mughal paintings, we hear of the akash diya (the lamp in the sky), which was lit on a high pole during the Jashn-e-Chiraghan (festival of lights). Abdul Halim Sharar, while writing about the cultural history of Lucknow, describes that in Hindu mythology, the abode of Gods is considered on three spheres – the sky, the atmosphere and the earth. Hence, the akash diya is symbolic of the belief that stars are lamps lit in honour of gods of the first two spheres.

Many more to refer ... it will be an endless chapter.

To be precise it is a festival that embraces all and helps them to move from the ignorance of dark to the wisdom of light.

HAPPY DIWALI

LET YOUR LIFE BE FILLED WITH HAPPINESS OF LIGHT AND WISDOM.

Avijit Kumar Roy
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