Legend of Holi Festival
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The legend of King Hiranyakashap is associated with the festival of Holi. This legend signifies the victory of good over evil, of devotion surpassing ambition.
King Hiranyakashap was an ambitious ruler, one who wanted absolute power so that he would be worshipped as God. When this wish was made known, the King's own son, Prahlad, refused to obey his father. Prahlad was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu, and it was only to his Lord that he gave allegiance. The proud King was enraged by Prahlad's disobedience and decided to punish him severely.
He asked his sister Holika for help. It was believed
that Holika was immune to fire and would never be burnt, so the King asked Holika to sit
in the centre of a bonfire with Prahlad on her lap, so that the fire could devour him.
The bonfire was lit, and young Prahlad sat in Holika's lap, in its centre, praying to Lord Vishnu. His devotion saved him, leaving him untouched by the flames, but Holika was burnt to ashes.
To mark this legend, huge bonfires are lit on the eve of Holi, especially in Bihar and the North.
Metaphorically though, the fire is meant to signify the destruction of evil( the burning of the ‘Holika’). The heat from the fire is also a reminder that winter is behind and that the hot summer days are ahead.Another Legend:
Holi is associated to a great extent with Lord Krishna, who in his childhood and youth, ran around with his band of cowherds and maidens of the village, completely captivating everyone.
He loved festivity, and the hamlets of Brindavan, Gokul and Barsana were full of fun and frolic. Lord Krishna played Holi with so must gust that even today the songs sung during Holi are full of the pranks that he played on the Gopis and the Gopis played on him, especially those on his childhood sweetheart Radhika, who lived in Barsana.
Holi is the celebration of Krishna and Radha's love - a teasing, affectionate panorama of feeling and colour. These scenes have been captured and immoratalised in the songs of Holi: the festival that is also the harbinger of the light, warm, beautiful days of Spring.