The second day of Diwali festivities is the Narak Chaudas or Narak Chaturdashi. Popularly known as Chhoti Diwali in the north India, Narak Chaturdashi is acknowledged on the fourteenth day of Krishna Paksha(dark fortnight) of the Hindu month of Ashvina.
The victory of Lord Krishna over the demon Narakasur is believed to be the reason behind the celebration of the day of Narak Chaudas. According to the Hindu mythology, Narakasur defeated Lord Indra and abducted sixteen thousand daughters of saints and lords under his responsibility. To bring him to his demise, Lord Krishna indulged in a battle with him. Narakasur was beheaded by Lord Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra and the sixteen thousand daughters were freed from prison.
The day is celebrated by early morning holy rituals and revelry followed on. The puja is performed with oil, flowers, and sandalwood. The rituals of Narak Chaudas are strongly suggestive of the origin of Diwali as a harvest festival. On this day delicacies are prepared from pounded semi-cooked rice which is taken from the fresh harvest available at that time. Houses are decorated and colourful floor patterns called rangoli are made on or before Narak Chaudas. The entrances and courtyards of every home look alluring being decorated by the wonderfully designed rangolis.
Another legend mentions the story of the son of King Hima and his intelligent wife. The sixteen year old prince was doomed to die by a snake-bite on the fourth day of his marriage as per his horoscope. When his wife came to know about such a prediction she decided to not allow him to sleep. She laid all the ornaments and lots of gold and silver coins in a big heap at the entrance of her husband’s bedroom and she went on telling him stories and singing songs.
In the mid night Yamaraja, the God of death arrived there disguised as a snake. The brightness of the gold blinded his eyes and he could not enter their chamber. Therefore, Lord Yama found a place to stay comfortable on top of the heap of the gold and kept sitting there for the whole night waiting to get a chance to bite the king’s son but as the wife of the king’s son kept telling stories and singing songs for the whole night, he could not get any chance and in the morning he left the place quietly. Thus, the wife saved her husband’s life from the clutches of death. Since then on the day of Narak Chaudas, people light a diya in reverential adoration of Yamaraja and pray for protection from untimely death.
–to be continued
