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Narak Chaudas or Chhoti Diwali -Diwali
Eve
The Second
Day is called Narak-Chaturdashi or more popularly as
Chhoti Diwali
which falls on the
14th day of the month of Kartik.
This festival is observed to
commemorate the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon king,
Narkasur.
This day is also celebrated as the birthday of
Hanumanji or Hanuman jayanti. Also, on this day
Hanumanji reached Ayodhya to deliver the long-awaited message of
Lord Rama’s return. Just like
diwali people light diyas on chhoti diwali to fill their homes
with light, worship Goddess Laxmi and offer prayers to Her and
they also burst firecrackers but all these things are not as
grand as they are on the day of main diwali .
Legends :
The Story of Narakasur :
The story goes that the demon king
Narakasur ruler of Pragjyotishpur (Province to the South of
Nepal) after defeating Lord Indra had snatched away the
magnificent earrings of Aditi, the Mother of Goddess and
imprisoned sixteen thousand daughters of the gods and saints in
his harem. On the day previous to Narakchaturdashi, Lord Krishna
killed the demon and liberated the imprisoned damsels and also
recovered those precious earrings of Aditi. His destruction made
all happy and the women in particular saw his end as a moral
victory for them.
The Story of King Bali :
With his
valour Bali conquered every bit of space, thus he became the
most powerful king on earth. In his kingdom, justice was mere
word, truth had no place and happiness was a dream.
His form of charity was
an occasion for pomp and show and those who went to seek Alms
from the king Bali suffered the indignity of insults and
humiliation. In fact, he felt that the vast wealth will remain
and the pittance he handed out now and again could not affect
even an iota of his asset. His false beliefs, arrogance and
misrule ended when the Lord disguised as beggar and humble
proved to Bali that his concepts were totally wrong and even his
vast wealth could disappear in seconds. King Bali asked the
dwarf beggar to ask for anything in his kingdom and with three
steps even his crown vanished. With his first step Lord Vishnu
covered the entire heaven and with the second step the earth and
asked Bali where to keep his third step. Bali offered his head
and became spiritually enlightened. Thus, this festival has a
far deeper significance than a mere exhibition of gaiety and
splendor. The Narak chaturdashi day therefore is dedicated to
lights and prayers heralding a future full of joy and the
elimination of greed.
Celebrations :
In South-India, people wake
up before sunrise prepare a paste by mixing Kumkum in
oil, 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 His forehead with.
In Maharashtra also,
traditional early baths with oil and "Uptan" (paste) of
gram flour and fragrant powders are a `must'. All through the
ritual of baths, deafening sounds of crackers and fireworks
are there in order that the children enjoy bathing. Afterward
steamed vermicelli with milk and sugar or puffed rice with
curd is served.
"In Bengal and east
India, this day is called Kali Chaudas and celebrated as the
birthday of Ma Kali. In Bengal Kali Ma's murti's are set up
in pandals and Kali puja is performed on this day." (contributed
by R G Thakore).
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