Chhoti Diwali (Narak Chaturdashi)

छोटी दिवाली (नरक चतुर्दशी) · નાની દિવાળી (નરક ચતુર્દશી)

Next date

8 November 2026

Sunday · Krishna Chaturdashi

Tithi begins10:48 AM · 7 Nov

Tithi ends11:28 AM

Full panchang for this day

About

The day before Diwali: Lord Krishna's victory over Narakasura. Oil bath before sunrise marks removal of past sins.

Falls on: Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi, the day before Diwali.
Also called: Naraka Chaturdashi, Kali Chaudas, Roop Chaudas, Choti Diwali, Bhoot Chaturdashi (Bengal)

The story

Krishna, with Satyabhama, killed the demon Narakasura and freed sixteen thousand captive women. Narakasura's dying wish was that his death be remembered as a day of light rather than mourning.

How it is observed

An oil bath before sunrise, abhyanga snan, is the central ritual in the south and west, with ubtan applied beforehand; hence Roop Chaudas, the day of beauty. Lamps lit in the evening. In Gujarat and parts of the south the same night is Kali Chaudas, used for protective and tantric worship of Kali or Hanuman.

Food

In the south this, not the following day, is the main Diwali feast day. Sweets and faral prepared in Maharashtra, chakli, chivda, shankarpali, karanji.

Regional variation

In Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra and Goa this day is Diwali, Naraka Chaturdashi is the main celebration and the following Amavasya is quieter. In Bengal it is Bhoot Chaturdashi, fourteen lamps lit for fourteen ancestors. In Gujarat, Kali Chaudas has a distinctly fierce character.

Common questions

Why is Diwali a day earlier in South India?: Because the south marks Narakasura's defeat by Krishna, which falls on Chaturdashi, while the north marks Rama's return and Lakshmi Puja on the Amavasya the next day. So they're really celebrating different events that happen to be adjacent. In Tamil Nadu the pre-dawn oil bath on Chaturdashi is the heart of it.
Are Kali Chaudash and Roop Chaudas the same day?: Same day, Aaso vad chaudas, the night before Diwali, but observed very differently. Roop Chaudas is about the pre-dawn oil bath and beauty. Kali Chaudash in Gujarat is a fierce, protective observance for Kali and Hanuman, with vada offered at crossroads. Many Gujarati households do both.
Why is an oil massage done on Roop Chaudas?: The pre-dawn oil bath is the whole observance, oil and ubtan applied, then a bath before sunrise, on the belief that it confers roop, beauty, for the year. It's the same morning as Narak Chaturdashi, and in the south that bath is the main Diwali ritual.

2026

Nov8SunSundayNextKrishna ChaturdashiTithi begins10:48 AM · 7 NovTithi ends11:28 AM

2027

Oct28ThuThursdayKrishna ChaturdashiTithi begins10:50 PM · 27 OctTithi ends08:48 PM

How it is observed

Common questions

Why is Diwali a day earlier in South India?

Because the south marks Narakasura's defeat by Krishna, which falls on Chaturdashi, while the north marks Rama's return and Lakshmi Puja on the Amavasya the next day. So they're really celebrating different events that happen to be adjacent. In Tamil Nadu the pre-dawn oil bath on Chaturdashi is the heart of it.

Are Kali Chaudash and Roop Chaudas the same day?

Same day, Aaso vad chaudas, the night before Diwali, but observed very differently. Roop Chaudas is about the pre-dawn oil bath and beauty. Kali Chaudash in Gujarat is a fierce, protective observance for Kali and Hanuman, with vada offered at crossroads. Many Gujarati households do both.

Why is an oil massage done on Roop Chaudas?

The pre-dawn oil bath is the whole observance, oil and ubtan applied, then a bath before sunrise, on the belief that it confers roop, beauty, for the year. It's the same morning as Narak Chaturdashi, and in the south that bath is the main Diwali ritual.