Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Holī (Holikā)

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

  • 39 Accesses

Holi is a cultural festival of India celebrating the victory of good over evil. The term Holi has varied connotations in the sociocultural milieu of India; as a festival, as a metaphor, and as a mode of lodging protest, it has come up with different connotations on different occasions. As a religious and sociocultural festival among Hindus, it shows significant artifacts in Indian culture and registers its importance among many festivities celebrating the zest of life in nation.

It is a long spanning spring celebration. The main festival is held on the full moon of the Hindu calendar month “Phalguna” (between the end of February and the middle of March). In the religious and folk texts, there are various mythological reasons behind the celebration of Holi. In the Bhgavatpurana and the Vishnu Purana, we find the mention of Hiranyakashipu who attempted to kill Prahlada by forcing him to sit on a burning pile of woods, in the lap of Holika. Holika was Hiranyakashipu’s sister and Prahlada...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Further Reading

  1. Gopal M (1990) In: Gautam KS (ed) India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  2. Mani V (1975) Puranic encyclopaedia: a comprehensive dictionary with special reference to the epic and Puranic literature. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  3. Jones C (2011) Holi. In: Gordon Melton J (ed) Religious celebrations: an encyclopedia of holidays festivals solemn observances and spiritual commemorations. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara

    Google Scholar 

  4. Doniger W (1999) Merriam-Webster’s encyclopedia of world religions. Merriam-Webster, Springfield

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of English and Modern European Languages, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, UP, India

    R. P. Singh

Authors
  1. R. P. Singh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. P. Singh .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, TX, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, CA, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature B.V.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Singh, R.P. (2019). Holī (Holikā). In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_496-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_496-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation