Chhoti Diwali - Popular Indian Festivals

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.

Dhanteras - Popular Indian Festivals

The festival of Dhanteras is also known as Dhantrayodashi and Dhanvantari Trayodashi (Dhanwantari Trayodashi). This festival marks the beginning of the Diwali celebrations and that is why, it is considered the first day of five days long festivities of Diwali. The term 'Dhanteras' consists of two factors 'dhan', which means wealth and 'teras', which means thirteenth. Here thirteenth is meant to indicate the day 'Trayodashi', i.e. the thirteenth day of the month on which Dhanteras falls. Dhanvantari Trayodashi (Dhanwantari Trayodashi) is celebrated on the thirteenth lunar day of Krishna Paksha, of the Hindu month of Kartik, which is two days before Diwali.

Dhanteras Celebrations

People worship Lord Yamaraj, the God of death, on this day and light a 'Yama-Diya' in the night to offer prayers to him to bless them with prosperity, well being and protection. They also purchase a new utensil, silver or gold coin or some other precious metal as a sign of good luck on the day of Dhanteras. The day of Dhanteras has great importance for the mercantile community of Western India. In Maharashtra, there is a peculiar custom to lightly pound dry coriander seeds with jaggery and offer as Naivedya. In the rural areas the cultivators worship their cattle because they form the main source of their income and livelihood.

Dhanteras Legends

There are several popular legendary stories to explain the foundation of this celebration. One famous story is about Lord Dhanvantari and his service to mankind. Lord Dhanvantari, who is considered to be the physician of Gods and an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, came out of the ocean that was churned by the Gods and the demons on the day of Dhanteras. Lord Dhanvantari appeared with Ayurvedic for the welfare of the mankind. It was because of this reason that the Dhanteras was celebrated in his honor.

Another interesting story famous about Dhanteras is related to the son of King Hima and his intelligent wife. It was predicted about King Hima that he would die on the fourth day of his marriage and the reason behind his death would be snakebite. When his wife came to know about such a prediction she decided not to let her husband die and for this she made a plan. On the fourth day of their marriage she collected all the jewelery and wealth at the entrance of her husband's boudoir and lighted lamps all around the place and started telling stories and singing songs one after another in order to not let her husband sleep.

In the mid night Lord Yama, the God of death arrived there in guise of a snake. The bright lights of the lamps lit by the wife of the king's son 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 jewelry and wealth 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 therefore 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 cruel clutches of death. Since then the day of dhanteras is also known as the day of 'Yamadeepdaan' and it has become a tradition to light a diya on dhanteras and to keep it burning throughout the night in reverential adoration of Lord Yama, the God of death.