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Diwali is a festival, which brings a series of festivals with it. One after
another we get a chance to celebrate five festivals together. Narak Chaturdashi
is one of these festivals and it is celebrated on the second day of Diwali
celebrations, just one day before the actual Diwali celebrations. The Narak
Chaturdashi, falls on the fourteenth day of the Hindi month, Kartik is more
popular by the name of Chhoti Diwali. It is celebrated with same zeal and
enthusiasm as the main Diwali but it is on comparatively lower scale. Just like
Diwali people light diyas on Chhoti Diwali to fill their homes with light and
worship Goddess Laxmi.
Legends
One famous story behind the celebrations of Chhoti Diwali or Narak Chaturdashi
is about the demon king Narakasur who was ruler of Pragjyotishpur, a province to
the South of Nepal. During a war, he defeated Lord Indra and snatched away the
magnificent earrings of Mother Goddess Aditi who was not only the ruler of
Suraloka but also a relative of Lord Krishna's wife, Satyabhama. Narakasur also
imprisoned sixteen thousand daughters of Gods and saints in his harem.
When Satyabhama came to know about this malevolent act of Narakasur she got
furious and she prayed to Lord Krishna to empower her so that she could destroy
Narakasur. The legend also tells that Narakasur was under a curse that a woman
would kill him. So, Lord Krishna empowered Satyabhama to fight with Narakasur
and himself became the charioteer of her 'Ratha' in the battlefield. Thus, by
the grace of Lord Krishna Satyabhama beheaded Narakasur on a day before to Narak
Chaturdashi and released the imprisoned ladies from Narakasur's harem and also
recovered the precious earrings of Mother Goddess Aditi.
In order to save all those imprisoned ladies from embarrassment Lord Krishna
accepted them all as his wives. As a symbol of the victory over Narakasur, Lord
Krishna smeared his forehead with this demon king's blood. Then Lord Krishna
returned home with his new wives early morning of the Narak Chaturdashi day. The
womenfolk massaged scented oil to his body and gave him a good bath to wash away
the filth from his body. Since then, there is a custom to take bath before
sunrise on the day of Narak Chaturdashi, especially in the state of Maharashtra.
It is said that the mother of the Narakasura, Bhoodevi, declared that the death
of her son should not be a day of mourning but an occasion for celebrations.
Since then people celebrate Chhoti Diwali with joy and fun every year.
Another legend is about King Bali, who was king of the nether world. His power
and increasing influence posed a threat to the security of all 'Devatas' so they
prayed Lord Vishnu to help them out. To help Devatas and to curb King Bali's
powers Lord Vishnu went to King Bali in the guise of a short-height 'Brahmin',
who is known as incarnation of 'Batu Waman', and begged to give him only that
much area of land that he could cover with in three steps because King Bali was
well known for his philanthropy. King Bali saw just a short-height 'Brahmin'
asking for a little piece of land so he proudly granted him his wish.
That very moment that short-height 'Brahmin' disappeared and there was almighty
Lord Vishnu in place of him. In his first step, Lord Vishnu covered the heaven
and in the second step the earth and asked King Bali where to put his third
step. Then King Bali offered his head to Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu put his third
step on his head and pushed him deep into the underground. But at the same time
being impressed by his generosity Lord Vishnu gave King Bali the lamp of
knowledge and allowed him to return to earth once a year to light millions of
lamps.
Chhoti Diwali - The Narak Chaturdashi Celebrations
People wake up early in the morning break any bitter fruit and apply the kumkum-oil
paste, which is called 'Ubtan', on their foreheads and then take bath. The
breaking of the fruit represents the head of the demon King, Narakasur and the
kumkum-oil paste symbolizes the blood that Lord Krishna smeared on his forehead.
In the state of Maharashtra, people take the traditional early baths after
applying the paste of gram flour, fragrant powders and oil on their foreheads.
As long as the ritual of bath takes place, deafening sound of crackers and
fireworks could be heard so that the children enjoy bathing. At dusk, people
start lighting Diyas and candles in and around their house to mark the
celebration of Chhoti Diwali.
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