Laxmi Puja and Naraka Chaturdashi – the Know how

“So we will make everything tomorrow.” My mom said and hung up. Diwali is fun, and is the time when you really do a lot of things. There is something about Diwali that brings about the best in you and you get to do a lot of things that otherwise during the year you would think twice about. For example cleaning the whole house is one ritual which very few like to do but during Diwali they do it with a lot of fervor and enthusiasm.

So as my mother hummed her favourite tunes and cleaned the house, I knew what she was waiting for. She was eager to be with her friend and make all the sweets and other stuff and then get ready for the Choti Diwali – the Naraka Chaturdashi and the Laxmi Puja.

I know how during Laxmi Puja she would get the entire house decorated and invite goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth into the house. It is believed that on this day, the sun goes into its second course and crosses Libra. In fact in India it is believed that Libra having the sign of scales has some connection to this. An amavasya is said to be inauspicious in India but the Diwali Amavasya is very very auspicious.

On the day of the Puja, I know how the temples get agog with a lot of sound and harmonious music. The temple bells toll and there are drum beats around signaling the invocation to Goddess Lakshmi. It is believed that darkness is dispelled during Diwali and light enters earth as Goddess Lakshmi comes to earth and blesses her devotes.

The twinkling diyas or lamps indicate the element of brightness in our lives and that even the ground on which Goddess Lakshmi walks on is twinkling with her breath and footsteps.

This Laxmi Puja is the main Diwali event in the western and northern part of India. Goddess Lakshmi likes the house to be clean so it is believed that cleanliness is important. Even the broom is worshipped on this day whit turmeric and vermillion. Lamps are lit to welcome the Goddess of Wealth.

Lakshmi Puja has a combination of five Gods. Ganesh is worshipped for obstacle removal, Goddess Lakshmi for wealth and money (Mahalakshmi), for good education (Maha Saraswati), and Mahakali. The God of Wealth Kuber is also worshipped during this time.

I could see how happy my mother was and I know how on the day of Naraka Chaturdashi she should be very happy. This year it falls on October 26, 2011. This is the day Lord Krishna is believed to have killed the wicked demon Naraka or Narakasura. Thus Diwali in South India is believed to be celebrated because of this victory.

However in the northern part of India, Diwali is celebrated to celebrate the victory of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana. It is believed Lord Rama and Goddess Sita returned to Ayodhya on this day with Lakshman.

IN 2011 Laxmi Puja and Naraka Chaturdashi is on the same day. Normally it is a day before Diwali but this year it is on the same day. So it was double celebration for my mother!

In the northern part, the Naraka Chaturdashi is a day before Diwali, but in south India, the Naraka Chaturdashi is observed on the Diwali day itself. Thus Hema, my friend in Chennai celebrates Diwali a day before we celebrate it.

The legend goes that Naraka was the son of Vishnu and Bhumi Devi. He got a boon that only his mother Bhumi Devi could kill him. So he misused this power and started harassing everyone and once took the earrings of Aditi, the mother of the Devas. So Lord Krishna devised a plan wherein he asked his wife Satyabhama to come with him to the battlefield. Satyabhama was a reincarnation of Bhumi Devi. Satyabhama was the charioteer. This great battle shook the whole earth and found Lord Krishna unconscious. Satyabhama unable to bear this shot Demon Naraka with the arrow.

Before he died, Naraka repented and asked for the world to remember him with a festival. Thus Naraka Chaturdashi came into being and my mother tells me how it indicates that good would eventually come from evil. Thus this day indicates how good and evil could come from the same origin. Naraka was evil in the initial stages and as he died he became good and repented for his mistakes. Thus the same person could change over a new leaf with a bit of effort. So this day Naraka Chaturdashi is the day when people can atone for their mistakes and change over a new leaf for the next year. Our inflated ego sometimes does overtake us and we forget ourselves sometimes. At such times we should pause and retrace our wrong steps. Naraka Chaturdashi ensures this.

This Diwali Laxmi Puja and Naraka Chaturdashi are on the same day – October 26, 2011.