Holika Dahan 2024: Date, Time and the Story Behind the Ritual

Holika Dahan which is popularly termed as ‘Choti Holi’, is performed a day before the ‘Rangwali Holi’ (Holi of Colours). Holika Dahan 2024 will be performed on 24th March and Holi of Colours will be celebrated on 25th March 2024.

Before we get into the details about the story behind Holika Dahan, its significance and how to perform it, let us look at the Muhurat or auspicious timings to perform the ritual of Holika Dahan.

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Holika Dahan 2024: Muhurat Details

It is extremely important that you perform the Holika Dahan ritual in the time window that falls in the right Muhurat which is derived after carefully analyzing the ‘Panchang’.

Holika Dahan Date: 24th March 2024

Holika Dahan Muhurta: 11:13 PM to 12:27 AM

Duration of Holi Muhurat: 1 hours 14 minutes

Rangwali (Colour) Holi date: 25th March 2024

It must be noted that there is a very inauspicious 8 day period called ‘Holashtak’ that begins 8 days prior to the Colour Holi. Negative energies become highly active during this time and it is advised to shield yourself with blessings of Lord Bhairav during this time.

Holashtak 2024 will start on 17th March and end on 24th March 2024 which also happens to be the day of Holika Dahan.

Therefore, contact Future Point and make the Best of this Holi 2024 by getting a Batuk Bhairav Puja performed in your name anytime during the Holashtak.

Origin of Holika Dahan and the Story Behind this Ritual

In Sat Yuga, there was a demon king called Hiranyakashyap who was an arch enemy of Lord Vishnu. However, such is the Lord’s Leela (Divine Play) that Hiranyakashyap’s son- Prahlaad, was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu.

Prahalaad, right from early childhood kept his soul immersed in the devotion of Lord Vishnu. But, his father being a demon and an enemy of Lord Vishnu didn’t like it and asked Prahlaad to stop worshipping ‘his enemy’ and threatened Prahalaad with dire consequences if he didn’t stop.

Prahlaad was unaffected with the threats and continued on the path of devotion. As a result, Hiranyakashyap ordered his soldiers to kill Prahalaad. Several murderous attempts were made to kill the little boy but every time Lord Vishnu saved Prahlaad.

At last, Hiranyakashyap called his sister- Holika, who had a boon that whenever she would wear a divine robe that she got after severe austerities, fire cannot do any harm to her.

So, Hirankashyap asked Holika to sit on a wooden pyre with her divine robe on and hold Prahlaad in her lap. This way, when the pyre will be set on fire then, Holika will remain unaffected and Prahlaad will be burned to death.

She did exactly the same but to everyone’s surprise including the demon Hiranyakashyap, it was Holika who got burned to death despite her boon & the divine robe and Prahlaad came out of that burning pyre- smiling & alive!

It was the demon’s sister Holika who died that day and little Prahlaad with his devotion, came out unharmed & victorious. As per the Lunar calendar, it was the end of ‘Purnima Tithi’ of the ‘Shukla Paksha’ in the month of Phalgun when this divine incident occurred.

And ever since, each year on the same date as per the Lunar calendar, people remember the Lord’s Grace and perform the ritual of Holika Dahan by creating a pyre and placing the effigy of Holika and Prahlaad in her lap. It is made sure that the effigy of Prahlaad is made from a material that is not burned by fire to maintain the essence of the message that the ritual of Holika Dahan entails.

It must be noted that soon thereafter, Lord Vishnu appeared from a pillar in the court of the demon king, in the form of Narsingha which means half-man & half-lion and killed Hirankashyap.

Also Read:  Mahashivratri 2024: Date, Importance, & Puja Vidhi

How to perform Holika Dahan 2024? 

The ancient scriptures reveal a detailed procedure to perform the ritual of Holika Dahan. It must be kept in mind that any ritual must be performed in strict accordance with the Vedic principles. Furthermore, when it comes to Holika Dahan which attracts enormously powerful cosmic energies. Therefore, it is best that those who are learned Vedic scholars, arrange/perform this ritual and we should simply participate in it because after all, it is the participation that blesses us with the Grace of the Divine.

Future Point brings to you an opportunity to book a participation in the Holika Dahan Puja for yourself and get the divine blessings that would change your life for good.

The Puja ritual will be performed with your name included and you will benefit immensely from the Rakshoghna Mantra from the Rig Veda that will be chanted to ward off negative energies from your life.

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Things to Keep in Mind

Following are the things that one should keep in mind while conducting himself/herself on the day of Holika Dahan:

• Wake up early in the morning and get ready and offer Arghya to Surya Dev.
• If possible, observe a fast during the day time till the ritual of Holika Dahan 2024 is successfully completed, late in the evening.
• Have Satvik food during the period of fast.
• Since a lot of black magic is done during Holashtak and especially on the day of Holika Dahan, one must not touch unclaimed or weird objects/articles lying outside.
• Do not consume meat & alcohol on this day.
• If you are creating a Holika Dahan pyre yourself then do that in strict compliance of the rules that have been followed for centuries.
• Use Cow dung cakes among other things while creating the Holika Dahan pyre.
• Avoid wearing dark coloured clothes on this day as negative energies are easily drawn towards dark colours.
• Do not step on the sacred ash from the Holika Dahan pyre.
• Do not get into arguments with someone as the concentration of negative energies is high on this day and one might get into confrontations that would prove to be detrimental for you.

Wishing You and Your Family- A Very Happy, Blissful & Safe Holi 2024!