Naraka Chaturdashi is a Hindi festival, which falls on Chaturdashi (14th day) of the Krishna Paksha in the Shalivahan Shak Hindu calendar month of Kartik. It is the second day of the five-day-long festival of Deepavali/Diwali.
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Naraka Chaturdashi Meaning
The festival is also called “Kali Chaudas” where Kali means dark (Eternal) and Chaudas means fourteenth, this is celebrated on the 14th day of the dark half of Aaso month. In some regions of India, Kali killed the asura (demon) Narakaura. Hence, also referred to as Narak-Chaturdashi, Kali Chaudas is a day to abolish laziness and evil, which creates hell and shines a light on life.
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Naraka Chaturdashi celebrated just one day before Diwali is also known as small Diwali.
What happens on Naraka Chaturdashi?
On Naraka Chaturdashi, devotees pray to the god Krishna, Kali, Yama and Hanuman to help cleanse their souls of past sins to avoid being sent to hell in the afterlife. Devotees also perform the ritualistic cleansing bath called Abhyanga Snan for this purpose and use sesame oil on their heads and body.
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