Choti Diwali (Narak Chaturdashi) 2026

About Choti Diwali (Narak Chaturdashi)

Narak Chaturdashi falls on the Chaturdashi of the dark half of Kartik in the purnimanta calendar. Choti Diwali is the evening before Diwali; in some years the Narak Chaturdashi bath falls on the morning of Diwali itself, and the timings above say which. The story behind it is of Narakasura, a demon king who had grown proud and held thousands of people captive. Krishna, with Satyabhama at his side, defeated him and set the captives free. The day is kept as a celebration of light winning over darkness, the same thought that runs through the whole of Diwali.

The day has many names. In much of north India it is Choti Diwali, the smaller Diwali, when a few lamps are lit ahead of the main night. In Rajasthan and parts of the north it is also Roop Chaudas, a day for care of the body and a bath with ubtan of gram flour, turmeric and oil. In Gujarat the Chaturdashi night is kept as Kali Chaudas, with prayers to Mahakali and, in many homes, to Hanuman. Since it follows the tithi at midnight, it can fall a day before the morning bath. In Tamil Nadu and much of south India, Deepavali itself is celebrated on this morning.

The heart of the day is abhyang snan, a bath taken before sunrise after the body is massaged with sesame oil and ubtan. It is kept as a way of beginning the festival fresh and clean. In Maharashtra and Goa, a small bitter fruit called karit is crushed underfoot before the bath as a sign of Narakasura's defeat, and in Goa large figures of Narakasura are made and burnt before dawn. After the bath come new clothes, sweets and the first fireworks for children.

In the evening, lamps are lit around the house, at the door, on the windows and beside the water pot. Many families place a lamp for Yama on this evening too.

Because the tithi is chosen by what is present before sunrise and the Amavasya tithi decides Lakshmi Puja, the two can fall on the same calendar day in some years, and families then keep both together.