Narakasura, Diwali, and Aditi’s earrings

The story of why Naraka chathurdasi came to be observed

Long long ago, so very long ago, the Devas and Asuras* – the good and evil demi gods who were mortal enemies of one – another decided to put their enmity aside to achieve their common goal of immortality. In order to access Amrit – the elixir of immortality, they churned a milky ocean using the Mt. Mandara as the churning rod and the snake Vasuki as the rope. Several items were retrieved through the churning process or Samudra manthan, including a hair jewel Chudamani, a pair of sparkling diamond hoop earrings, known as Kundala. They were gifted to Aditi who was the mother of Devas.

*The idea of time and space is Hindu myths is different and the world is considered a multi-verse that is constantly evolving. **An asura is anyone who is a not a sura (godly).

Aditi’s earrings

Aditi`s earrings were a rare treasure. They were not only beautiful but also extremely powerful. They sensed any danger to their wearer, and signal the wearer to the immediate threat by glowing and increasing the wearer’s sensory perception. Apart from being beautiful adornments, they were protective devices. Aditi as the protector of spaces, consciousness, memories and fertility used her earrings to protect herself and her family.

Narakāsura

Narakāsura, was born eons ago as Bhaumā Sura to Bhoomi devi (Mother Earth). While he grew up to be extremely courageous and strong, he had an uncontrollable temper. His association with Bānasura, an evil king, turned him evil as well. He wanted, Pragjyothishapur, his capital to be the capital of the world and he plotted to rule the multiverse. He won wars using every possible means. As a safety measure, he secured a boon from the creator that only his own mother will be able to kill him.

Narakāsura steals Aditi’s earrings

Millenniums passed. Narakāsura in his quest for power, took over Swarga loka, the land of the twelve Devas. He not only arrested and tortured them but also looted the land and stole the earrings of Aditi. She complained to Lord Vishnu about it who pacified her by citing that only he would be killed when the time was right. Meanwhile, Narakāsura destroyed families, looted cities and kidnapped nearly 16,000 women. Several centuries passed by before Aditi requested Satyabhāmā to help her. Read about Kṛṣṇa and Satyabhāmā here.

Naraka chathurdashi and Deepavali

After hearing several tales of cruelty dealt out by Narakāsura, Kṛṣṇa decided to fight him. He enlisted the help of his wife Satyabama who was an expert archer and charioteer. Kṛṣṇa rained arrows on Narakāsura on the battlefield but none of them hurt him. Kṛṣṇa threw his discus at Narakāsura, who simply deflected the discus which came flying back to hurt Kṛṣṇa. Satyabhāmā who saw this, became furious. She willed for Narakāsura to die and rained arrows on him.

As Narakāsura collapsed he realized that Satyabhāmā was a re-incarnation of his mother and that she had come to put an end to his cruelty against women. In moments before his death, he cried to her saying “Amma, forgive me!” breaking Satyabhāmā’s heart.

Kṛṣṇa cleaved Narakāsura’s head from his body, giving him a quick death and taking the blame for killing him in the process. Kṛṣṇa also proclaims that Narakāsura would be remembered in death. That day is celebrated as Naraka chathurdasi, Deepavali (in South India) and Choti Diwali in North India. Kṛṣṇa and Satyabhāmā freed all the prisoners and returned the earrings to Aditi restoring balance to the world.

References

Mahabharatam
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa), Canto 10, Chapter 59

Note

All stories have been collected from various sources, including oral histories and temple histories and compiled to form one narrative. Hence, there may be differences from the master narrative. The project hopes only to be a curator of stories and not an expert on history, religion and iconography.