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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Diwali symbolizes1 the victory of light over darkness. Celebrated2 joyously3 all over the country, it is a festival of wealth and prosperity.
The essence of this light is Shri Lakshmi-arising, at the beginning of time, out of the waters at the churning of the Milky4 Ocean by gods and demons5 for a thousand years. Regarded as the goddess of love, beauty and prosperity, Lakshmi, Kamla or Padma (Sanskrit words for lotus), the beloved consort6 of Vishnu, along with the dearly loved pot-bellied, elephant headed, auspicious7 god of the Hindu theogony, Siri Ganesha, is a presiding deity8 of the festival of lights. They are worshipped in every household so that the year may be full of prosperity. Throughout the night a lamp is kept burning before her image so that she may continue to dwell in the house and bestow9 upon it the wealth of life.
'Dipavali' means a row of lights ('Diwali' is simply a corrupt10 form of it) and the festival is so called because of the illuminations that mark the celebrations.
Every Hindu home, rich or poor, it given a spring cleaning a few days prior to the auspicious day, whitewashed11 and adorned12 in a festive13 way. Rows of little earthen lamps illuminate14 terraces and gardens, walls and courtyards, outer and inner precincts of a temple or a palace. That it was so from ancient times is borne by kings and travelers who have recorded the celebrations.
King Harsha described it as 'Dipapratipadotsava' and King Bhoja calls it 'Sukharati' (happy night) and describes how Lakshmi was venerated15 and worshipped at dusk and lamps lit in her honour on roadsides and river banks, on hill and tree, in home and temple. To Jimutavahana it was the 'vow16 of a happy night' (Sukharatrivarta')Another legend speaks of how Bali was deprived of his kingdom by Vishnu on this day. The good Daitya king, through austerities and devotion, had defeated the great Indra himself. The gods thus feeling humbled17 appeal to Vishnu for protection. Vishnu becoming manifest in his Dwarf18 incarnation (Vamana) begs Bali for as much land as he (Vishnu) can over in three steps. Having obtained the boon19, Vishnu covers heaven and earth in two strides and would have covered the world in the third, but then respecting Bali's goodness and generosity20, he stopped short and left the nether21 world to the Datiya king. The legend, found in Rig-Veda, tells of Vishnu's three strides-over earth, heaven and the nether world of Patala, symbolizing22 apparently23 the rising, culmination24 and setting of the sun. A zodiacal allegory couched in mythological25 terms, it points to the setting of the light of the sun and the emergence26 of the darkness associated with the lower realm. Changes of season, of course, but it tells of the heart of a people and their unlimited27 delight in life, in light, burning not outside but in the deeper recesses28 of the nether regions of cosmos29 and man. Why else should folk recall Bali and his reign30 on this day? We learn that in Maharashtra, effigies31 of Bali in rice-flour and cow-dung are prepared by womenfolk who worship and invoke32 his blessings33. Skanda Purana also refers to Bali being worshipped with fruits and flowers on this auspicious day by drawing this image on the ground in different hues34.
1 symbolizes | |
v.象征,作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 ) | |
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2 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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3 joyously | |
ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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4 milky | |
adj.牛奶的,多奶的;乳白色的 | |
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5 demons | |
n.恶人( demon的名词复数 );恶魔;精力过人的人;邪念 | |
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6 consort | |
v.相伴;结交 | |
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7 auspicious | |
adj.吉利的;幸运的,吉兆的 | |
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8 deity | |
n.神,神性;被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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9 bestow | |
v.把…赠与,把…授予;花费 | |
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10 corrupt | |
v.贿赂,收买;adj.腐败的,贪污的 | |
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11 whitewashed | |
粉饰,美化,掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12 adorned | |
[计]被修饰的 | |
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13 festive | |
adj.欢宴的,节日的 | |
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14 illuminate | |
vt.照亮,照明;用灯光装饰;说明,阐释 | |
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15 venerated | |
敬重(某人或某事物),崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16 vow | |
n.誓(言),誓约;v.起誓,立誓 | |
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17 humbled | |
adj. 卑下的,谦逊的,粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下,贬低 | |
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18 dwarf | |
n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小 | |
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19 boon | |
n.恩赐,恩物,恩惠 | |
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20 generosity | |
n.大度,慷慨,慷慨的行为 | |
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21 nether | |
adj.下部的,下面的;n.阴间;下层社会 | |
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22 symbolizing | |
v.象征,作为…的象征( symbolize的现在分词 ) | |
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23 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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24 culmination | |
n.顶点;最高潮 | |
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25 mythological | |
adj.神话的 | |
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26 emergence | |
n.浮现,显现,出现,(植物)突出体 | |
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27 unlimited | |
adj.无限的,不受控制的,无条件的 | |
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28 recesses | |
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭 | |
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29 cosmos | |
n.宇宙;秩序,和谐 | |
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30 reign | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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31 effigies | |
n.(人的)雕像,模拟像,肖像( effigy的名词复数 ) | |
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32 invoke | |
v.求助于(神、法律);恳求,乞求 | |
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33 blessings | |
n.(上帝的)祝福( blessing的名词复数 );好事;福分;因祸得福 | |
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34 hues | |
色彩( hue的名词复数 ); 色调; 信仰; 观点 | |
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