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Week 12 Wikipedia Trails - From Fire to, uh... More Fire

I started with Agni. Agni is a deity I have been interested since before even taking this class. I even considered doing my project over him.

From there I was led to Holi, or the "Festival of Colors". This is a springtime festival that essentially celebrates the triumph of good over evil and many other things. It also involves the lighting of a ceremonial bonfire.

That bonfire is called the Holika Dahan. The bonfire is significant as it is on this pyre that the demoness Holika was burned.

Holi Bonfire Udaipur.jpg
Holika Bonfire in front of Jagdish Temple in Udaipur


Holika was a demoness referenced in Hindu Mythology. She was asked by her brother to kill her nephew after the nephew chose to worship Vishnu over his father, a demon king. She attempted to kill her nephew by sitting on a pyre with him in his lap. She had on a cloak that made her invulnerable to the fire. But, while the fire burned, the cloak flew from her and onto her nephew. Her burning on this pyre is signified as the triumph of good over evil.
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  1. UnknownApril 15, 2018 at 4:13 PM

    This was an interesting wiki trail. I was unaware of Agni until I read your post, so even within the first few sentences you are providing knowledge. The holika bonfire looks pretty epic.I enjoyed browsing through the links you provided. All very interesting topics.

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