In the Hindu month of Phaalguna (फाल्गुन), there is a day that encompasses many events of love, devotion, and violence. That day is Holi, and it will be celebrated on the 14th of March this year. This vibrant festival celebrates Indian mythology while breaking social boundaries, ageism, and sexism by joyfully coloring everyone with dyed water and powder.

There are many interpretations of Holi, the simplest being the coming of spring where farmers pray for good harvests. However, most stories of the tradition of Holi are not about color and spring, but they are instead about devotion to God (in various forms) triumphing over evil. The best example is Narasimha Avatara–a form of the Hindu God, Vishnu– and the devotion of the prince Prahlad.

In the Bhagavata Purana, an ancient text mentioning the forms of Vishnu, there is a tale of a demon–or asura– named Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu was said to have displaced Lord Indra, King of the Devas–supreme ruler of Heavenly beings– and ruled the world. This likely means that he ruled over most of ancient India around six to eight thousand years ago. The King sat in meditation for the God of Creation, Brahma, of whom he asked a wish (a boon). He asked neither to be killed by day nor night, neither by man nor beast, neither at night nor day, and lastly by no weapon; Brahma granted the wish. His son, Prahlad, was a fervent Vishnu devotee, and he refused to worship his egotistical father over Vishnu. The angry king attempted to throw his child off a cliff and burn him via his sister Holika, but Prahlad chanted Narayana (Vishnu) the whole time and landed safely on a bed of flowers, and he ended up burning Holika alive.

Hiranyakashipu and Prahlad were arguing about the omnipresence of Vishnu, during which the demon king asked, “Is God in this pillar right now?” So with a great dramatic entry, Lord Vishnu took the form of a half-man half-lion and emerged from the aforementioned stone pillar in the court of Hiranyakashipu, mauling him to death with his huge claws, wearing his innards as a necklace as Prahlad was crowned king of the asuras– or divine beings. Thus, there is a huge bonfire before Holi to commemorate the triumph of good over evil, specifically highlighting the burning of Holika and the resulting goodness from praising the Gods.

The great colors and dancing for which everyone associates Holi with comes from a different avatar of Vishnu: his form of Krishna, a cowherd. Krishna was in love with Radha, the chief Gopi or milkmaid, but was conscious of his blue skin (courtesy of another demon) versus her own fair complexion. His mother, Yashoda, told Him to colour Radha’s face and make her whatever colour He wanted. He took the advice to heart and launched coloured water from pichkaris (water pumps), dying her in a myriad of colours. Thus, eternal love materialized between Radha and Krishna, celebrated by the bright, joyful colours.

With all this information of lions, demons, cowherds, and milkmaid, there are many reasons to see Holi as a celebration of various religious traditions, a beautiful tapestry of colors, joy, and the relinquishing of evil.