Religion · History

The Origins of Diwali

One dark night, a row of lights, many faiths

Diwali, or Deepavali, falls on Sunday 8 November 2026. This film explains the festival of lights from the ground up: what the name means, why a lunisolar calendar puts it on a new-moon night that moves by weeks from year to year, and why the same night is called Ashvin in one region and Kartika in another. Then what the oldest texts and inscriptions say; the five days from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj; the stories told about the night, in their own terms, from Rama's return in the Ramayana to Krishna and Narakasura and the goddess Lakshmi; how Jains, Sikhs and Newar Buddhists mark the same time for their own reasons; how fireworks joined the lamps and why Delhi's air worsens after the festival; and how Diwali became a public holiday from Singapore to Trinidad, a celebration in Bangkok's Little India and, in 2025, part of UNESCO's intangible heritage list.

Interactive 3D film9 minc. 527 BCE (Jain tradition) to 2026Published 3 November 2026

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Prologue

Religion · History

The Origins of Diwali

One dark night, a row of lights, many faiths

Why does Diwali move every year? And why do four faiths light lamps on the same dark night?

This year it falls on Sunday the eighth of November, when families from India to Trinidad and Bangkok will light rows of small clay lamps for Diwali, or Deepavali, the festival of lights.

Where did it come from? Let's follow the light back.

**Diwali night** Lamps on doorsteps and window ledges, and a rangoli design on the ground. AI-generated illustration.

~1.2 billion: Pew Research Center estimate; Jains, Sikhs and Newar Buddhists light lamps too
~95%: of Hindus live in India

Hindus worldwide, 2020

**Lamps on the water** In some places lamps are also set adrift on rivers and streams. AI-generated illustration.

Why a lunar calendar moves the date
What the oldest records say
The five days, and the stories behind them
Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Newar Buddhist meanings

In this film

Prologue

This Sunday

India’s Department of Personnel and Training lists Diwali (Deepavali) in 2026 on Sunday 8 November; PublicHolidays.com and PublicHolidays.in give the same date. The same list also gives each date in India’s official national calendar, a separate solar calendar, in which 8 November 2026 is “Kartika 17”; that Kartika is not the lunar month of the same name met later in this film. In 2025 Diwali fell on Monday 20 October. Pew Research Center (June 2025): there were nearly 1.2 billion Hindus in 2020, about 95% of them in India. Wikipedia: Diwali is observed by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, notably Newar Buddhists, and its main day is an official holiday in about a dozen countries.

Religious stories are told as each tradition tells them, not as statements of historical fact.

The lamps, the Moon dial, the calendar strips, the five plinths, the shrines and the globe are teaching graphics, not reconstructions of real places or objects.

Sources: Government of India, DoPT Office Memorandum F.No. 12/2/2023-JCA (3 July 2025): holidays in central government offices in 2026 — Diwali (Deepavali), Sunday 8 November; PublicHolidays.com: Diwali 2026 (Sunday 8 November); PublicHolidays.in: Diwali / Deepavali 2026, 2027 and 2028 (8 November 2026, 29 October 2027, 17 October 2028; some states also close on the following day); Government of India, DoPT: holidays in central government offices in 2025 — Diwali (Deepavali), Monday 20 October; Pew Research Center (9 June 2025): How the global Hindu population changed from 2010 to 2020 (nearly 1.2 billion; about 95% in India); Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays)

Chapter I · Lamps and the Moon

Chapter I

Lamps and the Moon

A row of lamps, on the darkest night.

Start with the name. Deepavali comes from two Sanskrit words: dipa, a lamp, and avali, a row. A row of lamps.

The lamp is a diya: a small bowl, usually of baked clay, with a cotton wick soaked in oil or ghee, clarified butter.

Families set them along doorsteps, windows and roofs, around a rangoli, a design of coloured powder, rice flour or petals on the floor. Press the button to light the row.

dīpa: lamp, light (Sanskrit)
āvali: row, series
Dīpāvalī: a row of lights; “Diwali” for short

The name

**Made by hand** Diyas can also be brass or silver; clay is the most common and the cheapest. AI-generated illustration.

**Rangoli** Rangolis are usually made at the threshold of the main entrance, after the area is cleaned. AI-generated illustration.

**One flame** Lamps stand for the victory of light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. AI-generated illustration.

Chapter I · Lamps and the Moon

A row of lights

Wikipedia, Diwali: the name comes from Sanskrit Dīpāvalī, “a row or series of lights”, from dīpa (lamp, light) and āvali (row, series). Wikipedia, Diya: a diya is an oil lamp of clay, brass or silver, with a cotton wick soaked in oil or ghee; small diyas are placed along the boundaries and entrances of houses. National Geographic Society: the festival takes its name from the row of clay lamps lit outside homes. Wikipedia, Rangoli: patterns of powdered limestone, rice flour, coloured sand or petals, usually made at the threshold of the main entrance. Princeton’s Office of Religious Life: Diwali signifies “the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance”.

Try it: press “Light the diyas” to light the row one lamp at a time, or “Darkness” to put them out.

The lamps, the Moon dial, the calendar strips, the five plinths, the shrines and the globe are teaching graphics, not reconstructions of real places or objects.

Sources: Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays); Wikipedia: Diya (lamp) — clay, brass or silver; cotton wick in oil or ghee; National Geographic Society (education resource): Happy Diwali; Wikipedia: Rangoli; Princeton University, Office of Religious Life: About Diwali

Diwali's date comes from the Hindu calendar. Its months follow the Moon, but its year must keep pace with the Sun.

The main night falls on amavasya, the dark-moon day, when no Moon lights the sky. That is why the lamps matter so much.

Twelve lunar months last about three hundred and fifty-four days, eleven fewer than a solar year. So Diwali usually comes about eleven days earlier than the year before.

But this year it came later. Every thirty-two or thirty-three months an extra month, Adhik Maas, is added to catch up with the Sun. This year's, from mid-May to mid-June, pushed Diwali about nineteen days later: from the twentieth of October to the eighth of November.

Pick a year and watch the dark moon move.

29.5 days: one lunar month, new moon to new moon
365 days: one solar year

Two clocks in one calendar

**Amavasya** With no Moon, the only light on the rooftops is the lamps. AI-generated illustration.

12 \times 29.53 \approx 354\ \text{days}

365 - 354 \approx 11\ \text{days a year}

The gap adds up to a whole month in about 2.7 years.

2025 20 Oct
2026 8 Nov: about 19 days later, after the extra month of 17 May – 15 June
2027 29 Oct: 10 days earlier
2028 17 Oct: 12 days earlier

Diwali night in India

Chapter I · Lamps and the Moon

A lunar date in a solar year

Wikipedia, Hindu calendar: Hindu calendars are lunisolar; twelve lunar months make about 354 days against a solar year of about 365, a difference of about eleven days that is made up by an intercalary month (Adhika Maas) roughly every 32.5 months. Wikipedia, Diwali: the five days centre on the new moon (amavasya); the main night is the darkest night of the month. Patrika and Narayan Seva Sansthan: in 2026 the extra month falls in Jyeshtha, from 17 May to 15 June, making a 13-month year. DoPT: Diwali was on 20 October in 2025 and is on 8 November in 2026, 19 days later in the solar year; PublicHolidays.in lists 29 October 2027 and 17 October 2028, as does Wikipedia.

The exact moment of new moon can fall a little after the Diwali evening: the lunar day (tithi) of amavasya begins before it. Try it: choose a year to move the dark moon on the dial. The dial is schematic.

The lamps, the Moon dial, the calendar strips, the five plinths, the shrines and the globe are teaching graphics, not reconstructions of real places or objects.

Sources: Wikipedia: Hindu calendar (lunisolar months, amanta and purnimanta systems, intercalary months); Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays); Patrika: New Year 2026, a 13-month year — Adhik Maas in Jyeshtha, 17 May to 15 June 2026; Narayan Seva Sansthan (5 May 2026): Adhik Maas 2026 — an extra month every 32.5 months; Jyeshtha Adhik Maas from 17 May to 15 June 2026; Government of India, DoPT Office Memorandum F.No. 12/2/2023-JCA (3 July 2025): holidays in central government offices in 2026 — Diwali (Deepavali), Sunday 8 November; Government of India, DoPT: holidays in central government offices in 2025 — Diwali (Deepavali), Monday 20 October; PublicHolidays.in: Diwali / Deepavali 2026, 2027 and 2028 (8 November 2026, 29 October 2027, 17 October 2028; some states also close on the following day)

There is a second puzzle. Is Diwali in the month of Ashvin or in Kartika? Both answers are right.

In the amanta system, used in states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka, a month ends at the new moon, so Diwali closes Ashvin.

In the purnimanta system, used in Nepal and most of northern India, a month ends at the full moon, so the same night falls in the middle of Kartika.

Same Moon, same night; only the name of the month changes. Switch between the two.

**A month of Moons** Each lunar month has a bright half, as the Moon waxes, and a dark half, as it wanes. AI-generated illustration.

Bright half, then dark half
Diwali: Ashvin, the last day
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana

Amanta: month ends at new moon

Dark half, then bright half
Diwali: the middle of Kartika
Nepal and most states north of the Vindhya hills

Purnimanta: month ends at full moon

8 Nov 2026: the same dark-moon night, whatever the month is called

Both agree on the night

Chapter I · Lamps and the Moon

Two ways to end a month

Wikipedia, Hindu calendar: the amanta tradition ends the lunar month on the new moon and the purnimanta tradition on the full moon, so the waning (dark) fortnight belongs to different but succeeding months in the two systems, while both describe the same day. The amanta system is followed in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana; Nepal and most Indian states north of the Vindhya mountains follow the purnimanta system. Wikipedia, Diwali: the festival falls in Ashvin by amanta reckoning and in Kartika by purnimanta reckoning; already in 1847 H. H. Wilson explained that the same festival day is named differently in regional calendars.

Try it: switch between amanta and purnimanta and watch the month boundaries move while the Diwali night stays put. Schematic.

The lamps, the Moon dial, the calendar strips, the five plinths, the shrines and the globe are teaching graphics, not reconstructions of real places or objects.

Chapter II · In the record

Chapter II

In the record

Where Diwali comes from: old plays, inscriptions and travellers.

So where does Diwali come from? It probably grew out of ancient harvest festivals, so pinning down a first date is hard.

In 1945 the historian P. K. Gode traced a possible forerunner in an ancient Sanskrit text. By the seventh century, King Harsha's play Nagananda names a festival of lamps, when newly engaged couples received gifts.

Stone and copper inscriptions from the tenth century onward mention it. Around 1030, the Persian scholar al-Biruni recorded Hindus celebrating on the new moon of Kartika.

Later visitors, from a Venetian merchant to British scholars, described the lamps too. Step earlier or later along the timeline.

**Texts and copper plates** The script shown is invented and unreadable. AI-generated illustration.

50–400 CE Kamasutra: Yaksharatri, a possible forerunner (Gode)
7th c. Harsha’s play Nagananda: Dipapratipadotsava
9th c. Rajasekhara: Dipamalika, lamps on homes and streets
10th c. Rashtrakuta copper plate: Dipotsava
c. 1030 al-Biruni: new moon of Kartika
1590 Ain-i-Akbari, at Akbar’s court

Diwali in the record

**Inscriptions** A 12th-century inscription in Dharwad, Karnataka, calls the festival a “sacred occasion”. AI-generated illustration.

“An innumerable number of oil lamps … which are kept burning day and night.”Niccolò de’ Conti, Venetian merchant

A visitor in the early 1400s

Chapter II · In the record

The oldest references

JSTOR Daily, on P. K. Gode’s 1945 study: the oldest reference Gode found is Yaksharatri in the Kamasutra (50–400 CE), which the 12th-century Jain scholar Hemachandra equated with Diwali; Gode also cites al-Biruni around 1030 and Abul Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari (1590); an early author tied the festival to the end of the rice harvest. Wikipedia, Diwali: the festival is likely a fusion of harvest festivals in ancient India; it is mentioned in the Padma Purana and Skanda Purana, composed between the 7th and 10th centuries; King Harsha refers to it in the 7th-century play Nagananda as Dīpapratipadotsava, when lamps were lit and newly engaged couples received gifts; Rajasekhara calls it Dipamalika in the 9th-century Kavyamimamsa; a 10th-century Rashtrakuta copper plate of Krishna III mentions Dipotsava, and a 12th-century inscription in Dharwad calls it a “sacred occasion”; al-Biruni, in his 11th-century memoir, wrote of Deepavali on the new moon of Kartika; Niccolò de’ Conti, early 15th century, described innumerable oil lamps; Sir William Jones described the days in 1799.

Dates of the Puranas and of the Kamasutra are scholars’ ranges, not exact years. Try it: press “Earlier” or “Later” to step along the timeline.

The lamps, the Moon dial, the calendar strips, the five plinths, the shrines and the globe are teaching graphics, not reconstructions of real places or objects.

Sources: JSTOR Daily: A History of Diwali (on P. K. Gode’s 1945 study in the Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute); Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays)

Chapter III · Five days

Chapter III

Five days

Two days before the dark moon, two days after.

Over the centuries it grew into five days around the dark moon: in 2026, the sixth to the tenth of November, though some almanacs differ by a day.

The first two days prepare: Dhanteras, for cleaning the home and buying gold or new pots, then little Diwali, for sweets.

The third, the night of the dark moon itself, is the heart of it: Lakshmi Puja. At dusk families worship Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, often with Ganesha, then light the lamps.

In Bengal the same night is Kali Puja, for the goddess Kali, whom many there worship as the Divine Mother.

Day four, Govardhan Puja, heaps up a mountain of food, recalling how Krishna is said to have lifted a hill to shelter villagers from a storm. Day five, Bhai Dooj, is for brothers and sisters. Choose a day.

**The evening before** Dhanteras is one of the busiest shopping days of the Indian year. AI-generated illustration.

6 Nov Dhanteras
7 Nov Naraka Chaturdashi, “little Diwali”
8 Nov Lakshmi Puja, the dark moon
9 or 10 Nov Govardhan Puja; New Year in Gujarat
10 Nov Bhai Dooj

Diwali 2026 in India (some almanacs differ by a day)

**Lakshmi Puja** The lamps from the puja are used to light more lamps along parapets and doorways. AI-generated illustration.

**Annakut** “Mountain of food”: communities may prepare over a hundred dishes. AI-generated illustration.

Chapter III · Five days

From Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj

Wikipedia, Diwali: the festivities begin two days before amavasya, on Dhanteras, and extend two days after; Wikipedia’s calendar gives 6–10 November 2026, and some almanacs place Govardhan Puja on 9 or on 10 November. Dhanteras, from dhan (wealth) and teras (thirteenth), is the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight, for cleaning homes and buying utensils and gold; Naraka Chaturdashi (Chhoti Diwali, “little Diwali”) is a major day for buying sweets. The third day, the last of the dark fortnight, is the height of the festival: at dusk families gather for Lakshmi Puja, with prayers also to Ganesha, then light lamps, set off fireworks and share a feast. In Bengal the focus is Kali; Rachel Fell McDermott notes the Kali puja tradition was particularly prominent from the 1920s. Wikipedia, Kali: a major Hindu goddess, worshipped in Bengal above all as the Divine Mother. The fourth day is called Annakut, Padwa, Govardhan Puja or Balipratipada; in Gujarat it is the first day of the new year. Wikipedia, Govardhan Puja: Annakut means “mountain of food”; it recalls Krishna lifting Govardhan Hill to shelter the villagers from the rains sent by Indra, as told in the Bhagavata Purana. The fifth day, Bhai Duj, celebrates the sister–brother bond.

Customs differ by region; the film follows the five-day pattern most sources describe. Try it: choose a day on the plinths.

Religious stories are told as each tradition tells them, not as statements of historical fact.

The lamps, the Moon dial, the calendar strips, the five plinths, the shrines and the globe are teaching graphics, not reconstructions of real places or objects.

Sources: Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays); National Geographic Society (education resource): Happy Diwali; Wikipedia: Kali — a major Hindu goddess, worshipped in Bengal above all as the Divine Mother; Wikipedia: Govardhan Puja (Annakut, “mountain of food”; Krishna lifting Govardhan Hill against Indra’s rains, in the Bhagavata Purana); PublicHolidays.in: Diwali / Deepavali 2026, 2027 and 2028 (8 November 2026, 29 October 2027, 17 October 2028; some states also close on the following day)

Chapter IV · Stories of the night

Chapter IV

Stories of the night

Several stories, told differently by region.

Why lamps on this night? Hindu traditions tell several stories, and they differ by region.

In the epic Ramayana, Prince Rama comes home to Ayodhya after fourteen years in exile and his victory over the demon king Ravana. In the north, people light rows of lamps to welcome him.

In another story, Krishna, worshipped as an avatar of the great god Vishnu, defeats the demon Narakasura, and the day before Diwali is named after him.

And many Hindus link the night above all to Lakshmi, the goddess Vishnu married. She is said to roam the Earth looking for homes that welcome her, so doors are left open and lamps lit.

Different stories, one theme: light over darkness.

**A city of lamps** An original image in the style of an Indian miniature painting; not a copy of any real work. AI-generated illustration.

Ramayana → Thailand’s Ramakien
Rama → Phra Ram
Ravana → Thotsakan

Thai viewers know these names

**Before dawn** Naraka Chaturdashi: a lamp, oil and water for the ritual bath before sunrise. In the story, Krishna freed 16,000 of Narakasura’s captives. AI-generated illustration.

Rama’s return to Ayodhya
Krishna and Narakasura
Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity; in one telling she chose Vishnu on this night
Kali, in Bengal

One night, several stories

Chapter IV · Stories of the night

Rama, Krishna and Lakshmi

Wikipedia, Diwali: one tradition links the festival to the Ramayana, where Diwali is the day Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman reached Ayodhya after 14 years in exile, following the defeat of the demon king Ravana. National Geographic Society: in North India, Diwali marks Rama’s return to Ayodhya, celebrated by lighting rows of lamps. Per another popular tradition, Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, killed Narakasura, king of Pragjyotishapura near present-day Assam, and released 16,000 captive girls; the day before Diwali is Naraka Chaturdashi; Hindus of the Braj region, parts of Assam and southern Tamil and Telugu communities view Diwali as the day Krishna destroyed Narakasura. Many Hindus associate the festival with Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity and wife of Vishnu; according to Tracy Pintchman, popular sources describe the night of Diwali as when Lakshmi chose and wed Vishnu. National Geographic Society: many believe Lakshmi wanders the Earth seeking welcoming homes, so people open doors and windows and light lamps. Wikipedia, Ramakien: Thailand’s version of the epic, in which Ravana is Thotsakan.

Religious stories are told as each tradition tells them, not as statements of historical fact.

The lamps, the Moon dial, the calendar strips, the five plinths, the shrines and the globe are teaching graphics, not reconstructions of real places or objects.

Sources: Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays); National Geographic Society (education resource): Happy Diwali; Princeton University, Office of Religious Life: About Diwali; Wikipedia: Ramakien (Thailand’s version of the Ramayana; Ravana is Thotsakan)

Chapter V · One night, many faiths

Chapter V

One night, many faiths

Jains, Sikhs and Newar Buddhists light lamps for reasons of their own.

Hindus are not the only ones lighting lamps. For Jains, Diwali marks the nirvana, the final liberation, of Mahavira, the twenty-fourth and last great teacher of their faith. He is not the Buddha, though the two may have lived at about the same time.

Jain tradition dates it to 527 BCE, though many scholars place Mahavira in the fifth century BCE. A Jain text tells that, when his light of knowledge was gone, kings lit lamps of ordinary matter instead.

Many Jains avoid fireworks, which can harm living beings. Switch traditions to see what the same night means to each.

**A Jain temple at dusk** Jain temples, homes and shops are decorated with lights and diyas. AI-generated illustration.

Day after Diwali: starts the Vira Nirvana Samvat year; account books begin anew

The Jain new year

“Since the light of knowledge is gone, we will make light of ordinary matter.”Kings at Mahavira’s nirvana, in the Śvetāmbara text, as translated

From the Kalpasutra

Ahimsa, non-violence, comes first
Hymns, fasting, and Mahavira’s last teachings
Pilgrims visit Pawapuri in Bihar, where he died

A quieter Diwali

Chapter V · One night, many faiths

Mahavira’s nirvana

Wikipedia, Diwali: Jains observe Diwali as the final liberation (nirvana) of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara; according to Jain tradition the lighting of lamps began on the day of his nirvana in 527 BCE, though scholars contest that date and some place him in the fifth century BCE, contemporary with the Buddha. Wikipedia, Diwali in Jainism: Mahavira attained moksha at Pawapuri; in the Śvetāmbara Kalpasutra, kings illuminated their doors, saying “Since the light of knowledge is gone, we will make light of ordinary matter”; Jinasena’s Harivamsa Purana, of Shaka year 705 (about 783 CE), mentions the festival as dipalika; the Jain year begins the day after Diwali; most Jains avoid firecrackers because of ahimsa. Princeton: Jains mark the attainment of moksha by Mahavira.

Try it: switch between the four traditions to see what the same night means to each. The shrines are schematic, not models of real buildings.

Religious stories are told as each tradition tells them, not as statements of historical fact.

Sources: Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays); Wikipedia: Diwali in Jainism (Mahavira’s nirvana at Pawapuri; the Kalpasutra account; Jinasena’s Harivamsa Purana); Princeton University, Office of Religious Life: About Diwali

Sikhs mark the same days as Bandi Chhor Divas, the Day of Liberation. In the early 1600s the Mughal emperor Jahangir held the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind, in Gwalior Fort; accounts differ on why.

According to Sikh tradition, he refused to leave unless fifty-two imprisoned princes were freed with him, and led them out holding the tails of his robe. He reached Amritsar as Diwali was being celebrated.

Today the Golden Temple there is lit with thousands of lights. The name Bandi Chhor Divas was formally adopted in 2003 by the committee that runs the Sikhs' main gurdwaras.

**A hilltop fort** Gwalior Fort today holds a gurdwara, Data Bandi Chhor Sahib, where the Guru is said to have been held. AI-generated illustration.

52: princes freed, holding 52 tails of the robe, in Sikh tradition

The cloak

**Amritsar at Diwali** An illustration of a gilded temple on its pool; the festival also brings processions and langar, the community kitchen. AI-generated illustration.

1606 Hargobind becomes Guru, aged 11
1609–1612 or 1617–1619 held at Gwalior (accounts differ)
2003 the SGPC adopts the name in the Nanakshahi calendar

Dates, as sources give them

Chapter V · One night, many faiths

The Day of Liberation

Wikipedia, Bandi Chhor Divas: the Sikh celebration of Diwali commemorates the release of the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind, from Gwalior Fort, where the Mughal emperor Jahangir had held him; Sikhs believe he also freed 52 Rajput princes, who held on to his robe. Different versions exist of why he was held: one says the governor of Lahore warned Jahangir that the Guru was building the Akal Takht and strengthening his army; another links it to an unpaid fine imposed on his father, Guru Arjan. Accounts of the dates differ too: an internment in 1609 with release in 1611 or 1612, or, in Persian records such as the Dabistan-i Mazahib, imprisonment between 1617 and 1619. On his release he went to Amritsar, where Diwali was being celebrated. In 2003 the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which manages many of the Sikhs’ principal gurdwaras, formally adopted the day into the Nanakshahi calendar. Religion News Service: Jahangir is said to have told him he could take as many prisoners as could hold on to his robe, and he had one made with 52 tails. Wikipedia, Diwali: J. S. Grewal notes that Diwali in the Sikh tradition is older than this story; Guru Amar Das invited Sikhs to gather at Diwali.

Try it: switch traditions. The gilded shrine in the scene is schematic.

Religious stories are told as each tradition tells them, not as statements of historical fact.

Sources: Wikipedia: Bandi Chhor Divas (Guru Hargobind, Gwalior Fort, the 52 princes; differing accounts of the imprisonment; adopted in the Nanakshahi calendar in 2003); Religion News Service (10 Nov 2023): Bandi Chhor Divas, celebrated at Diwali, has a history and values of its own; Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays)

In Nepal the five days are called Tihar. On the first two, people honour crows and then dogs, garlanding them with flowers; then cows, and Lakshmi.

The Newars, the historic people of the Kathmandu Valley, keep their own version, Swanti, and both Hindu and Buddhist Newars take part. Newar Buddhists, unlike most Buddhists, worship Lakshmi on the third night.

The next day is Mha Puja, worship of the self, a blessing for a long and lucky year ahead. It opens the Newar new year.

**Kukur Tihar** Crows and dogs are honoured as messengers of death, to be placated. AI-generated illustration.

**The Kathmandu Valley** Newar Buddhists keep the festival on the same days as Nepal’s Hindu Tihar. AI-generated illustration.

**Mha Puja** Each family member sits before a sand mandala of an eight-petalled lotus, with a long-burning wick. AI-generated illustration.

Kwah Puja: crows
Khicha Puja: dogs
Lakshmi Puja, and cows
Mha Puja: the self, new year
Kija Puja: brothers

Swanti, five days

Chapter V · One night, many faiths

Tihar, Swanti and Mha Puja

Wikipedia, Tihar: in Nepal the festival honours Lakshmi and Yama, crows, dogs, cows and oxen, and the bond between siblings. Wikipedia, Newar people: the Newars are the inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surroundings and the creators of its historic heritage. Wikipedia, Swanti: the Newar version of Tihar, kept by both Hindus and Buddhists; the first two days, Kwah Puja and Khicha Puja, are for crows and dogs, known as messengers of death; the third for cows and Lakshmi; the fourth is Mha Puja; the fifth, Kija Puja, honours brothers. Wikipedia, Diwali: Diwali is not a festival for most Buddhists, except the Newar people of Nepal, who celebrate it over five days on the same days as the Hindu Tihar and offer prayers to Lakshmi. Wikipedia, Mha Puja: “worship of the self” in Newari, a ritual to purify and empower the soul on the Nepal Sambat New Year (10 November in 2026), invoking prosperity and long life; each person sits before a mandala of an eight-petalled lotus and receives a long-burning wick.

Try it: switch between the four traditions.

Religious stories are told as each tradition tells them, not as statements of historical fact.

The lamps, the Moon dial, the calendar strips, the five plinths, the shrines and the globe are teaching graphics, not reconstructions of real places or objects.

Sources: Wikipedia: Tihar (festival) — the five days in Nepal; Wikipedia: Newar people — the inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and creators of its historic heritage; Wikipedia: Swanti — the Newar five-day festival (Kwah, Khicha, Lakshmi, Mha and Kija Puja); Wikipedia: Mha Puja — “worship of the self”, a ritual to purify and empower the soul on the Nepal Sambat New Year; Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays)

Chapter VI · Smoke and light

Chapter VI

Smoke and light

Fireworks came late, and they leave something behind.

Fireworks came much later than the lamps. Gunpowder reached India in the Middle Ages; the historian Gode found fireworks at a Gujarati wedding in 1518, and by about 1800 paintings show them lighting up Diwali nights.

Today they leave something behind. Delhi's air is already poor in autumn, when cold, still air traps smoke from traffic, industry and farm fires.

After Diwali in 2025, official data analysed by the group Climate Trends put fine particles, PM2.5, at four hundred and eighty-eight micrograms per cubic metre on average, against about one hundred and fifty-seven before.

India's Supreme Court allowed only green crackers, which pollute less, for a few hours. Compare a night of lamps with a night of fireworks.

**Fireworks in paint** An original image in the style of early-19th-century Kishangarh painting, where fireworks appear at night festivities. AI-generated illustration.

**Smog** Winter air near the ground can trap smoke for days. AI-generated illustration.

2021	455
2022	168
2023	320
2024	220
2025	488

Delhi, PM2.5 after Diwali

**Green crackers** In 2025 they were allowed for three hours on each of two evenings, but many were lit outside the window (Al Jazeera). AI-generated illustration.

Chapter VI · Smoke and light

Fireworks, and Delhi’s air

The Heritage Lab: gunpowder reached India in the 13th century; P. K. Gode’s History of Fireworks in India between AD 1400 and 1900 (1953) records Duarte Barbosa’s account of fireworks at a wedding in Gujarat in 1518; a Pahari painting of about 1800 shows fireworks at Diwali, and a Kishangarh painting of the early 19th century (LACMA) shows Krishna and Radha enjoying a feast and fireworks. Al Jazeera (21 October 2025): India’s Central Pollution Control Board put Delhi’s AQI at 350, “very poor”, the morning after the main night; the Supreme Court had relaxed the ban to allow lower-emission “green crackers” for at most three hours on each of two evenings, and fireworks were widely set off outside those times; cold, heavy winter air traps dust, vehicle emissions and smoke from agricultural fires. The Tribune: Climate Trends’ analysis of CPCB data put the average PM2.5 in the peak period after Diwali at 488 µg/m³ in 2025, against 156.6 before the festival, and at 454.5 (2021), 168 (2022), 319.7 (2023) and 220 (2024).

Fireworks are one source among several, and weather changes the numbers each year. Try it: switch between a night of lamps and a night of fireworks. The haze in the scene is schematic.

The lamps, the Moon dial, the calendar strips, the five plinths, the shrines and the globe are teaching graphics, not reconstructions of real places or objects.

Sources: The Heritage Lab: In Paintings — Diwali and a history of firecrackers in India (Gode 1953; Barbosa, 1518; a Kishangarh painting of the early 19th century); Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays); Al Jazeera (21 Oct 2025): Diwali provokes hazardous alert over New Delhi air quality (CPCB AQI 350; green crackers allowed for three hours); The Tribune (Oct 2025): Day after Diwali, Delhi records worst air quality in five years (CPCB PM2.5 data analysed by Climate Trends)

Chapter VII · Around the world

Chapter VII

Around the world

From Kathmandu to Port of Spain, and Bangkok.

Today Diwali's main day is a public holiday in about a dozen countries, from South Asia to the Pacific, Africa and the Caribbean.

This year Singapore gives Monday the ninth off, because the eighth is a Sunday. In Thailand, the Tourism Authority held its first Grand Diwali Festival in 2025, in Phahurat, Bangkok's Little India.

And in December 2025 UNESCO added Deepavali to its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

**Lights over the street** In Malaysia the holiday is national except in Sarawak. AI-generated illustration.

India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan
Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore
Mauritius, Fiji
Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago
and three US states, as of October 2025

An official holiday in

**Phahurat, Bangkok** The area grew around Punjabi and Sikh textile merchants in the late 1800s and early 1900s. AI-generated illustration.

20th session: of the Intergovernmental Committee, held at the Red Fort, New Delhi
16th: Indian element on the Representative List

UNESCO, December 2025

Chapter VII · Around the world

A holiday in many countries

Wikipedia, Diwali: the main day (Lakshmi Puja) is an official holiday in Fiji, Guyana, India, Malaysia (except Sarawak), Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago; as of October 2025 it was an official holiday in three US states, California, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Circles.Life: Deepavali falls on Sunday 8 November 2026 in Singapore, with a public holiday in lieu on Monday 9 November. TAT News: the Amazing Thailand Grand Diwali Festival 2025 ran from 16 to 31 October in Phahurat (Little India) and Khlong Ong Ang, led by the Tourism Authority of Thailand with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and others; Time Out Bangkok called it the first-ever. Wikipedia, Phahurat: the neighbourhood became associated with Punjabi and Sikh merchants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Press Information Bureau and All India Radio: Deepavali was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2025, at the 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee at the Red Fort, New Delhi, India’s 16th element on the list.

The globe is schematic.

The lamps, the Moon dial, the calendar strips, the five plinths, the shrines and the globe are teaching graphics, not reconstructions of real places or objects.

Sources: Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays); Circles.Life: Singapore public holidays in November 2026 (Deepavali Sunday 8 November, holiday in lieu Monday 9 November); TAT News: Amazing Thailand Grand Diwali Festival 2025 to light up Bangkok, 16–31 October (Phahurat and Khlong Ong Ang); Time Out Bangkok: Little India hosts the first Amazing Thailand Grand Diwali Festival 2025; Wikipedia: Phahurat, Bangkok’s Little India; Press Information Bureau, Government of India (Dec 2025): Deepavali inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List at the 20th Intergovernmental Committee session, Red Fort, New Delhi; All India Radio News (10 Dec 2025): UNESCO includes Deepavali in its intangible heritage list

Epilogue

One small flame, then a row of them.

A prince coming home, a goddess at an open door, a teacher set free, a Guru released: each tradition lights the same night for its own reason.

The Moon sets the date. The people who light the lamps decide what they mean.

On the eighth of November, under a moonless sky, the first lamp will be lit again.

**From flame to flame** Each lamp is lit from the one before. AI-generated illustration.

527 BCE Mahavira’s nirvana, by Jain tradition
7th c. Harsha’s Nagananda
c. 1030 al-Biruni’s account
1600s Guru Hargobind’s release
c. 1800 fireworks in Diwali paintings
2025 UNESCO inscription
8 Nov 2026 this year’s dark moon

Diwali through time

Stills are AI-generated illustrations
3D scenes are schematic
Religious stories are described, not asserted

About this film

Epilogue · Sources

Sources

Every fact in this film comes from the sources below. Religious stories are told as each tradition tells them, with the tradition named; dates that rest on tradition, such as 527 BCE for Mahavira’s nirvana, are marked as such, and scholarly ranges are given where the record is uncertain. Pollution figures are attributed to the agencies and analysts who published them. The stills are AI-generated illustrations; the 3D scenes are schematic teaching graphics.

Sources: Government of India, DoPT Office Memorandum F.No. 12/2/2023-JCA (3 July 2025): holidays in central government offices in 2026 — Diwali (Deepavali), Sunday 8 November; Government of India, DoPT: holidays in central government offices in 2025 — Diwali (Deepavali), Monday 20 October; PublicHolidays.com: Diwali 2026 (Sunday 8 November); PublicHolidays.in: Diwali / Deepavali 2026, 2027 and 2028 (8 November 2026, 29 October 2027, 17 October 2028; some states also close on the following day); Circles.Life: Singapore public holidays in November 2026 (Deepavali Sunday 8 November, holiday in lieu Monday 9 November); Pew Research Center (9 June 2025): How the global Hindu population changed from 2010 to 2020 (nearly 1.2 billion; about 95% in India); Wikipedia: Diwali (etymology, dates, the five days, history, other religions, hazards, public holidays); Wikipedia: Hindu calendar (lunisolar months, amanta and purnimanta systems, intercalary months); Patrika: New Year 2026, a 13-month year — Adhik Maas in Jyeshtha, 17 May to 15 June 2026; Narayan Seva Sansthan (5 May 2026): Adhik Maas 2026 — an extra month every 32.5 months; Jyeshtha Adhik Maas from 17 May to 15 June 2026; National Geographic Society (education resource): Happy Diwali; Princeton University, Office of Religious Life: About Diwali; Wikipedia: Diya (lamp) — clay, brass or silver; cotton wick in oil or ghee; Wikipedia: Rangoli; Wikipedia: Kali — a major Hindu goddess, worshipped in Bengal above all as the Divine Mother; Wikipedia: Govardhan Puja (Annakut, “mountain of food”; Krishna lifting Govardhan Hill against Indra’s rains, in the Bhagavata Purana); Wikipedia: Ramakien (Thailand’s version of the Ramayana; Ravana is Thotsakan); Wikipedia: Diwali in Jainism (Mahavira’s nirvana at Pawapuri; the Kalpasutra account; Jinasena’s Harivamsa Purana); Wikipedia: Bandi Chhor Divas (Guru Hargobind, Gwalior Fort, the 52 princes; differing accounts of the imprisonment; adopted in the Nanakshahi calendar in 2003); Religion News Service (10 Nov 2023): Bandi Chhor Divas, celebrated at Diwali, has a history and values of its own; Wikipedia: Tihar (festival) — the five days in Nepal; Wikipedia: Newar people — the inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and creators of its historic heritage; Wikipedia: Swanti — the Newar five-day festival (Kwah, Khicha, Lakshmi, Mha and Kija Puja); Wikipedia: Mha Puja — “worship of the self”, a ritual to purify and empower the soul on the Nepal Sambat New Year; JSTOR Daily: A History of Diwali (on P. K. Gode’s 1945 study in the Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute); The Heritage Lab: In Paintings — Diwali and a history of firecrackers in India (Gode 1953; Barbosa, 1518; a Kishangarh painting of the early 19th century); Al Jazeera (21 Oct 2025): Diwali provokes hazardous alert over New Delhi air quality (CPCB AQI 350; green crackers allowed for three hours); The Tribune (Oct 2025): Day after Diwali, Delhi records worst air quality in five years (CPCB PM2.5 data analysed by Climate Trends); TAT News: Amazing Thailand Grand Diwali Festival 2025 to light up Bangkok, 16–31 October (Phahurat and Khlong Ong Ang); Time Out Bangkok: Little India hosts the first Amazing Thailand Grand Diwali Festival 2025; Wikipedia: Phahurat, Bangkok’s Little India; Press Information Bureau, Government of India (Dec 2025): Deepavali inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List at the 20th Intergovernmental Committee session, Red Fort, New Delhi; All India Radio News (10 Dec 2025): UNESCO includes Deepavali in its intangible heritage list