Stories on the background of the Diwali, or Deepavali, festival are manifold, and the celebration spans even across religions. For some, it's about Rama's return to Ayodhya. For others, it's about the killing of Narakasura. Many Hindus, especially in northern India, celebrate the birth of goddess Lakshmi with pompous festivities. For the Jains it marks the parinirvana of Tirthankar Mahavir, the last of their prophets, and for the Sikhs — how entertainingly typical — it's about their struggles and conquests.
A less known story is told in the Skanda-purana, the story of how Ardha-Narishvara, or the half-Shiva, half-Shakti deity, came to be. To become Shiva's half, the legend tells, Shakti undertook a 21-day austerity called Kedar-vrata, concluding with success and union on the Diwali day. A beautiful ancient temple of Ardha-Narishvara is found at Kedar Ghat in Varanasi, impregnated with some of the most intense energies I have ever experienced in a shrine.
