Diwali
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96 free Diwali trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
50 free Diwali trivia questions with answers. Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in the world. From the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya to the worship of Goddess Lakshmi, from the five days of celebration to the rich traditions of sweets, fireworks, and rangoli — test how deep your knowledge goes across Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and global traditions.
30 of 96 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In the Diwali story, Rama came home from exile with his wife Sita and which brother?
Lakshmana
Lakshmana followed Rama and Sita into the forest for the whole exile and fought beside him in the war to rescue her; the lamps recall the welcome the three received.
Q 02What are the sweets shared and gifted at Diwali collectively called?
Mithai
Mithai is the umbrella word for Indian sweets; sweet shops stack up gift boxes of them before Diwali because families hand them to relatives, neighbours and colleagues.
Q 03Which treasurer of the gods do merchant families honour beside the wealth goddess at Diwali?
Kubera
Kubera stands for book-keeping and the careful management of wealth, so traders set their ink and account books before the altar and pray to him as well.
Q 04Besides Hindus, Jains and Sikhs, Newar followers of which religion also celebrate Diwali?
Buddhism
Buddhism: most Buddhists do not keep Diwali, but Newar Buddhists do, praying to the wealth goddess over the same days as their Hindu neighbours.
Q 05Which colorful floor art patterns are traditionally created during Diwali?
Rangoli
Rangoli are decorative patterns made on floors using colored powders, rice, flower petals, and sand. They are created at the entrance of homes during Diwali to welcome guests and deities.
Q 06Diwali celebrates Lord Rama's return from exile to which city, his kingdom's capital?
Ayodhya
Ayodhya, capital of the Kosala kingdom, welcomed Rama and Sita home from their long forest exile; lamps lit their way, the origin story behind Diwali's lights.
Q 07Diwali is a public holiday in which Pacific island nation, home to many people of Indian descent?
Fiji
Fiji's Hindus once kept Holi as their principal festival; Diwali overtook it during the 20th century and is now a public holiday for the whole country.
Q 08What do people traditionally wear during Diwali celebrations?
New clothes
New clothes mark Diwali's fresh start: families shop for outfits in the days before, then dress up at dusk for the evening prayers and visits.
Q 09In a Diwali legend, which game does Parvati win against Shiva?
Dice
Dice: in the legend Parvati beat Shiva at dice and declared that whoever gambles on Diwali night would prosper all year, the origin of the festival's card and dice games.
Q 10What is the first day of the five-day Diwali festival called?
Dhanteras
Dhanteras opens the festival: families clean their homes and shops, then set out the first lamps beside images of the wealth goddess.
Q 11Rama's Diwali homecoming followed his defeat of which demon king?
Ravana
Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka, had abducted Sita; Rama's victory over him with an army of vanaras is the climax of the Ramayana, and Rama's homecoming afterwards is what Diwali celebrates.
Q 12Which Diwali sweet comes in besan, motichoor and boondi varieties?
Ladoo
Ladoo are rolled by hand: chickpea flour fried in ghee, or tiny fried drops of batter, is mixed with sugar and pressed into balls.
Q 13What does 'Deepavali' literally mean?
Row of lights
Row of lights: the Sanskrit name joins 'dipa' (lamp or light) and 'avali' (row), after the lines of oil lamps set along ledges and doorways.
Q 21The asura king honoured on Diwali's fourth day is also welcomed home at which festival of Kerala?
Onam
Onam welcomes the same generous king back to his old realm each year with flower carpets and a great feast, about two months before his Diwali day.
Q 22Govardhan Puja recalls a hill lifted to shelter villagers from storms sent by which angry god?
Indra
Indra, god of rain and storm, was angry that the cowherds had stopped his autumn worship; the hill sheltered them for seven days until he gave up.
Q 23What deep-fried, syrup-soaked sweet shaped like a pretzel or spiral is popular during Diwali?
Jalebi
Jalebi are coils of plain-flour batter fried crisp and steeped in sugar syrup; in North India they are eaten with curd or with rabri, a thickened sweet milk.
Q 14Besides India, Diwali is a public holiday in which of these Southeast Asian countries?
Malaysia
Malaysia calls the day Hari Deepavali and gives nearly the whole country a public holiday; Hindu families hold open houses, light oil lamps and stage cultural performances.
Q 15On Diwali's second night, which deity of strength is worshipped to keep roaming spirits at bay?
Hanuman
Hanuman Puja on that night is especially common in Gujarat, and the same day is called Roop Chaudas by those who mark it with a ritual oil bath at dawn.
Q 16Which fudge-like sweet, made by cooking khoa (milk solids) with sugar, is a Diwali staple?
Barfi
Barfi (or burfi) is made by cooking milk solids down with sugar until the mix sets firm enough to cut; pistachio and coconut versions are Diwali favourites.
Q 17What is the fifth and final day of Diwali called?
Bhai Dooj
Bhai Dooj (also known as Bhai Tika or Bhau Beej) is the fifth and final day of Diwali. Sisters perform a tilak ceremony for their brothers, praying for their long life, similar to the Raksha Bandhan festival.
Q 18The small oil lamps lit at Diwali are traditionally made from what material?
Clay
Clay is the traditional material: potters shape the little earthenware bowls before the festival, and each is filled with oil or ghee and given a cotton wick.
Q 19For Jains, Diwali marks the final liberation (moksha) of which teacher?
Mahavira
For Jains, Diwali commemorates the attainment of moksha (liberation) by Lord Mahavira, the 24th and last Tirthankara; they mark it as Mahavira Nirvana Divas with lamps and recitation of his final teachings.
Q 20Which Sikh leader's release from Gwalior Fort, alongside 52 imprisoned rajas, is commemorated on Diwali?
Guru Hargobind
Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh Guru, is said to have walked out of Gwalior Fort with 52 rajas each holding a tassel of his cloak; the Golden Temple is illuminated on the anniversary.
Q 24Which 7th-century emperor's Sanskrit play Nagananda refers to Deepavali as 'Dipapratipadotsava'?
Harsha
Harsha, the 7th-century ruler of Kannauj, wrote the Sanskrit play Nagananda, which calls the festival Dipapratipadotsava and describes lamps being lit and gifts given to newly engaged couples.
Q 25Which son of Shiva and Parvati is worshipped beside Lakshmi in the main Diwali puja?
Ganesha
Ganesha, the remover of obstacles and god of new beginnings, is honoured at the start of Hindu rites, so his image sits beside Lakshmi's at the Diwali puja.
Q 26What is the name of the demon killed by Lord Krishna on the day before Diwali?
Narakasura
Narakasura, king of Pragjyotishapura, held 16,000 women captive until Krishna, riding Garuda with his wife Satyabhama, slew him and freed them on the eve of Diwali.
Q 27Where is Diwali called 'Tihar', a five-day festival with one day set aside for dogs?
Nepal
Nepal celebrates Tihar over five days; on Kukur Tihar dogs are garlanded and given tika as messengers of Yama, and the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley calls the festival Swanti.
Q 28Dhanvantari, honoured on Diwali's first day, is the god of which Indian discipline?
Ayurveda
Ayurveda: Dhanvantari is the divine physician of the gods, said to have emerged from the churning of the ocean, and the day is kept as his birthday with prayers for health.
Q 29Which Diwali sweet is a deep-fried ball of reduced milk solids soaked in cardamom-scented sugar syrup?
Gulab Jamun
Gulab Jamun dough is fried at a low temperature in ghee or oil, then left to soak in the syrup; the warm balls are sometimes served with kulfi or ice cream.
Q 30Diwali falls on the new moon of which month in the Hindu calendar?
Kartik
Kartik: North India's calendar puts Diwali on Kartik's new-moon night, the darkest of the month, while calendars that end each month at the new moon count the same night as the last of Ashvin.