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In this news clip from WION, the anchor is saying that when Lord Rama came back to Ayodhya, the residents of Ayodhya decorated their houses with lamps. That is how the festival of Diwali (Deepavali) began. I heard this narration in many other places as well. Even the accepted answer of the post (What is the significance of the festival Diwali? Why is it celebrated?) from the Hinduism Stack Exchange also tell us the same thing. It has two links related to Ramayana. Both links are Wikipedia articles. and there is no mention of Diwali or Deepavali.

I want to know whether Diwali was mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana. Please cite relevant verses from Valmiki Ramayana.

Amritendu Mukhopadhyay
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    No, Diwali is not mentioned even in regional Ramayanas. You can refer to closely related : Did Rama return in Chaitra or Vaishakha? and the second part of Bali Pratipada here : Difference between Bali Padyami and Onam. Also no scripture references but Diwali (Amavasya) is actually the day on which Lakshmiji came from Samudra Manthan. Trayodashi- on which Dhanvantari came from Samudra Manthan. Diwali Rama is British era stuff – Adiyarkku Nov 06 '21 at 09:31
  • @Adiyarkku "Diwali Rama is British era stuff". Can you please elaborate a bit on the origin of this narration? – Amritendu Mukhopadhyay Nov 06 '21 at 09:41
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    this is first mentioned (I think) in British era works like Brihad Dharma Purāṇa (which is not among the 18 Mahapuranas or 18 Upapuranas or Shiva Dharma Vishnu Dharma). Small example of inauthenticity - Brihad dharma sanctions fish eating, whereas Manu doesn’t etc etc. If you see the Skanda Purāṇa from the Bali Link I gave, you’ll see how lights are lit to welcome Lakshmiji at the behest of Bali Maharaj. – Adiyarkku Nov 06 '21 at 09:45
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    @Adiyarkku Thanks for your comments. I have edited the question as I am interested to know the origin of this narration. – Amritendu Mukhopadhyay Nov 06 '21 at 11:34
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    If you want oldest ref. to Rama coming back to Ayodhya, then change the title of your post , if it is about diwali then the question already exsists here. – SwiftPushkar Nov 06 '21 at 15:58
  • @SwiftPushkar Thanks for the link. I edited the question and switched it to the original question (whether it was mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana). Sorry for the confusion. – Amritendu Mukhopadhyay Nov 06 '21 at 17:08
  • @Adiyarkku On what basis do you assert your claim that the Brihaddharma Purana is a British-era stuff ? – অনু Nov 08 '21 at 06:27

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