The Legends Of Narak Chaturdashi

After Dhanteras, the second day of Diwali is known as Narak Chaturdashi or more popularly as 'Choti Diwali'. Narak Chaturdashi is the 14th day of the Hindu month of Kartik. This festival is observed to commemorate the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon king, Narakasur. It is believed that on the day of Narak Chaturdashi, Lord Hanuman reached Ayodhya with the news of Lord Ram's return from exile after 14 long years.

This day is celebrated differently in various regions of India. It is quite clear that even the rituals and legends of Narak Chaturdashi differ from region to region. In Southern India, people wake up before sunrise to prepare a paste by mixing kumkum in oil. They apply this paste called 'Ubtan' on their foreheads and then take a bath.

A white pumpkin is broken and smeared with kumkum. The breaking of the fruit represents the head of the demon king, Narakasur, and the kumkum-oil paste symbolises the blood that Lord Krishna smeared His forehead with.

In Bengal, people prepare 14 different kinds of 'saag' (leafy green vegetables) and light 14 oil lamps in the evening, signifying the Chaturdashi (14th day of the Hindu month of Kartik ). On the next day, Kali Puja commences as Amavasya sets in. Thus, Narak Chaturdashi is an important festival celebrated throughout India.

Let us take a look into the legends and stories of Narak Chaturdashi.

Story Of Narak Chaturdashi
The story goes that the demon king Narakasur, ruler of Pragjyotishpur (the province to the south of Nepal), after defeating Lord Indra, snatched away the magnificent earrings of Aditi (the mother of all the Gods). He also imprisoned the 16,000 daughters of the gods and saints in his harem.

On the day previous to Narak Chaturdashi, Lord Krishna killed the demon and liberated the imprisoned damsels and also recovered those precious earrings of Aditi. Thus, the day of Narak Chaturdashi came to be celebrated as the day of victory of good over evil.

Story Of King Bali
Another legend is about King Bali who became very powerful and a threat to the Gods. In order to curb his powers, Lord Vishnu took the guise of a Batu Vaman and begged King Bali to give him only so much land which he could cover with his three steps.

Known for his generosity, King Bali proudly granted him his wish. That very moment that small boy transformed himself into the all-powerful Lord Vishnu. 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. Putting his foot on his head, Vishnu pushed him down to the underworld. At the same time, for Bali's generosity, Lord Vishnu gave him the lamp of knowledge and allowed him to return to earth once a year to light millions of lamps. This would dispel the darkness of ignorance and spread the radiance of love and wisdom.

Hence, Narak Chaturdashi is a celebration of good over evil, light over darkness and wisdom over ignorance.