Jashn-e Chiragha'n: Tracing Deepavali celebrations in the Mughal Empire

Historian Anoushka Jain traces the history of Deepavali celebrations in the Mughal Empire, exploring how the festival of lights found a place in the imperial court and the cultural life of Shahjahanabad

This is that time of the year when Delhi is decorated and decked out like a new bride. Old buildings are draped in twinkling lights, and shop billboards scream for attention. The walled city has a rich tradition of celebrating this festival. Mughal rulers attempted to make it inclusive to promote regional harmony.

Emperor Akbar started celebrating the festival at Agra Fort and distributed sweets like ghewar, shahi tukda, kheer, peda, and jalebi as greetings. The famous 16th-Century court chronicler Abul Fazl writes in the Ain-i-Akbari that festival celebrations began with Dussehra and continued for several weeks. Akbar strongly believed in syncretic traditions and even translated the Ramayana into Persian. Abul Fazl further writes that the scenes from this epic were read and re-enacted in Akbar's court during the festival. Under the Mughals, the festival of lights came to be known as Jashn-e Chiragha'n.

His son Jahangir comments in his memoirs that it was celebrated by the 'vaishya' or the trader community as the commencement of the new year. Emperor Shah Jahan, a lover of grandeur, made it a true spectacle. Under his reign, fireworks lit the sky, and thousands of diyas were lit in the Mughal Fort.

The famous chronicler of Delhi, RV Smith, in his book Delhi: Unknown Tales of a City, wrote that Shah Jahan introduced akash diya (sky lamp) as part of the celebrations as he shifted the capital to Delhi. According to historian R Nath, in his book Private Life of the Mughals in India writes that the akash diya was lit with great pomp, placed atop a 40-yard-high pole, supported by eighteen ropes, and required several maunds of oil to remain lit. Emperor Aurangzeb kept the celebrations austere and accepted gifts from Rajput kings and noblemen. During the time of the later Mughals, the celebrations revived. Emperor Muhammad Shah 'Rangeela' loved celebrations. It is said that on the day of the festival, he sat with his courtiers and watched dancing girls holding diyas twirl around water fountains.

Celebrations inside the fort

Munshi Faizuddin's Bazm-i Aakhir, published in 1885, provides us with a vivid account of how Deepavali was celebrated inside the Red Fort under the last Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar. He writes that the palace became a fortress, and no one was allowed to enter. A widespread superstition held that black magic occurred during the three days of the festival. In fact, no one cut vegetables inside the palace.

On the third lamp day, the emperor was weighed on a large scale against gold and silver, after which the gold and silver were distributed among the poor and destitute.

The entire palace was beautifully lit, with even its towers and turrets lit with lights, its glow illuminating all of Chandni Chowk. The female ushers carried toys, clay playhouses, sweetmeats, and bundles of sugarcane and lemons, and distributed them door to door in the walled city. A handheld platform with lights, drums, and a band played music in the palace. A common practice still followed today was placing bundles of sugarcane in the four corners, with slices of lemon hung from thread. In the morning, the lemons were distributed. Several paintings depict Mughal princesses enjoying aatishbazi (fireworks) and playing with sparklers during the festival. A special officer called 'Mir Aatish' was appointed for this job.

Smith writes that celebrations in the city reached their zenith during Lala Sri Kishan Gurwala's time and that of his nine sons. His son, Lala Kushal Rai, after whom a galli is named in Old Delhi, used to celebrate Deepavali with ghee ke diye and aatishbazi (fireworks) that rivalled those of the Red Fort. The festival brought all communities together. He also records that the entire water canal in Shahjahanabad was beautifully lit with diyas. Muslims used to contribute the cotton wicks (batti), and the Sikh community used to contribute the oil.

Deepavali today has changed vastly from its Mughal days. Several pandals are set up in the walled city, with bhajans, jagrans, and bhandaras arranged at the community level. The famous Diwali Mela also takes place just outside the Red Fort, drawing huge crowds from across the neighbourhood for the entire month. Consumers visit Bhagirath Market to buy electrical goods, Kinari Bazaar for lace edgings, decorative and packaging materials, and Khari Baoli for dry fruits.

Now, centuries later, the lamps may no longer illuminate the balconies and turrets of Red Fort quite the same way, and the imperial court that once celebrated Deepavali has long since disappeared. But cultural memory reminds us of the exchange and adaptation of traditions that allowed for peaceful coexistence.

Anoushka Jain is a historian and the author of Badass Begums: The Incredible Women Who Shaped Mughal India (Harper Collins).