Naraka Chaturdasi marks the death of the demon Narakasura at the hands of Krishna and Satyabhama. It is kept before dawn: the household wakes in the dark, bathes with oil, and lights the first crackers while the sky is still black.
The story
Narakasura, son of the Earth goddess Bhudevi, ruled from Pragjyotisha and had carried off sixteen thousand women and the earrings of Aditi, mother of the gods. He had a boon that only his own mother could kill him.
Krishna rode against him on Garuda with his wife Satyabhama, herself a form of Bhudevi. In the telling Telugu audiences know best, Krishna falls back stunned in the chariot and it is Satyabhama who takes up the bow and brings Naraka down. Dying, he asked that his death be remembered with lamps and rejoicing.
How it is kept
- Abhyanga snanamBefore sunrise the women of the house give harathi to the men and children and touch sesame oil to their heads. Everyone then bathes, scrubbing with sunnipindi, a paste of gram flour and herbs.
- The first crackersNew clothes go on straight after the bath and the first crackers are lit at once, well before daylight.
- Burning NarakaIn some towns an effigy of Narakasura is burnt, at night or before dawn.
- Leading into DeepavaliThe lamps and the Lakshmi puja follow at dusk on the new-moon evening, which can be the same date or the next.
Why this date
Naraka Chaturdasi is the fourteenth tithi (Chaturdasi) of the dark half of Ashwayuja. Because the bath must be taken before sunrise, the calendar gives the day on which Chaturdasi is in force in the hour and a half before dawn. In 2026 that is the same date as Deepavali.
Naraka Chaturdasi in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sunday | |
| 2027 | Thursday | |
| 2028 | Tuesday | |
| 2029 | Monday | |
| 2030 | Friday | |
| 2031 | Thursday |
More Telugu festivals
29 OctoberDeepavaliదీపావళి
2 NovemberNagula Chavithiనాగుల చవితి
14 NovemberKarthika Pournamiకార్తీక పౌర్ణమి
9 OctoberVijayadasamiవిజయదశమి
8 OctoberMaha Navamiమహర్నవమి
7 OctoberDurgashtamiదుర్గాష్టమి
Where to see Naraka Chaturdasi
In the Telugu states
- Venugopala Swamy Temple, HamsaladeeviAndhra PradeshAn old Krishna temple where the Krishna river meets the sea. The day belongs to Krishna and Satyabhama, and this is the delta's best-loved shrine of his.
- Venkateswara Temple, TirumalaAndhra PradeshThe festival is marked on the hill, and the Deepavali Asthanam court is held the next day.
Across India
- PanajiGoaNeighbourhoods build towering effigies of Narakasura, parade them through the night and burn them before dawn.
- Udupi Sri Krishna MathaKarnatakaThe oil bath before sunrise is a temple ceremony here, with the pontiffs of the eight mathas taking part.
- Dwarkadhish Temple, DwarkaGujaratKrishna's own city on the western sea, from which the story says he set out against Naraka.
- Kamakhya, GuwahatiAssamOld Pragjyotisha, the kingdom Narakasura is said to have ruled.