October 24th - The day before Diwali is celebrated as Choti Diwali. Basically it is Diwali on a smaller scale, with fewer lights lit and fewer fire crackers. The morning after Choti Diwali, the women beautify their homes using colored rangoli, in their doorways and courtyards. Tiny footprints are made out of rice paste, then special rangolis are made for Diwali. They signify the footprints of Lakshmi, as she enters each household. This is called Naraka-Chaturdashi or Choti Diwali which falls on the fourteenth day of the month of Ashwin. The demon king Narakasur ruler of Pragjyotishpur (a province to the South of Nepal) after defeating Lord Indra snatched the magnificent earrings of Aditi, the Mother of all Goddesses and imprisoned sixteen thousand daughters of the gods and saints in his harem.
A day previous to Narakachaturdashi, Lord Krishna killed the demon, liberated the imprisoned damsels, and recovered Aditi�s precious earrings. As a symbol of his victory Lord Krishna smeared his forehead, with the demon king's blood. Krishna then returned home, in the very early morning hours of The Narakachaturdashi Day. The women massaged scented oil, onto his body and gave him a bath, in order to wash away the filth from his body. Since then, the custom of taking bath before sunrise on this day has become a traditional practice especially in Maharashtra.
In South India this victory of the divine, over the mundane is celebrated in a very peculiar way. People awaken before sunrise, they prepare blood by mixing Kumkum in oil, after breaking a bitter fruit that represents the head of the demon King which was smashed by Krishna. They then apply that mixture onto their foreheads. Afterwards they take an oil bath using sandalwood paste.
In Maharashtra, traditional early baths with oil and "Uptan" (paste) of gram flour and fragrant powders are a must. All through the ritual of baths, deafening sounds of firecrackers and fireworks can be heard. Afterwards steamed vermiceli with milk and sugar or puffed rice with curd is served.
Another legend is about King Bali of the nether world, whose might and power had become a threat to the gods. In order to curb his powers Lord Vishnu in the guise of a Batu Waman- a small boy- visited him and begged him to give him as much land which he could cover in three steps. Known for his philanthropy, King Bali proudly granted him his wish. That very moment that small boy transformed himself into the all-powerful Lord Vishnu. With his first step Lord Vishnu covered the entire heaven and with the second step the Earth and asked Bali where to keep his third step. Bali offered his head. Putting his foot on his head, Vishnu pushed him down to the underworld. However, to reward Bali for his generosity Lord Vishnu gave him the lamp of knowledge, and allowed him to return to Earth once a year, to light millions of lamps, to dispel the darkness and ignorance, and spread the radiance of love and wisdom. Narakachaturdashi is thus dedicated to lights and prayers heralding a future full of joy and laughter.