The significance of Deepavali is different in different parts of India.

In the north, Deepavali is celebrated to commemorate the reception accorded to Lord Sri Rama on his arrival with Sita Devi at Ayodhya after vanquishing the 10 headed rakshasa Ravana, who had abducted Sita Devi. In the south, especially in Tamil Nadu, Deepavali is the celebration to commemorate the reception accorded Lord Sri Krishna after he vanquished Narakasura and Deepavali is otherwise known as Naraka chaturdashi. In Karnataka the Prathama after Deepavali is also celebrated as Bali Padyami in honour of the asura Chakravarthy Mahabali who was sent to Patala by Lord Mahavishnu in his Vamana Avatara. Narakasura was a demon king who ruled from Pragjyothishapura which is todays Assam.There are two versions about Narakasuras birth. In one version it is said that he was the son of the demon king Hiranyaksha and in another version he is described as the son of Lord Mahavishnu. The demon king Hiranyaksha was terrorising the three worlds, the earth, the sky and the nether world (Patala).The devas were terrorised by him and they all prayed to Lord Mahavishnu to bring an end to his evil ways. Mahavishnu promised to rescue them from Hiranyaksha and went in search of him. Hiranayaksha taking the form of a wild boar went to hide in the Patala taking Bhudevi (earth) with him. While the boar was carrying Bhudevi on his tusks, Bhudevi became pregnant by the touch of the tusk and gave birth to Narakasura. Bhudevi was stricken with grief for having given birth to an asura and went to Lord Mahavishnu carrying the baby and asked for the salvation of the asura son. Lord Mahavishnu gave His blessings and said none other than me can kill this son of yours. In another verison it is said that as Hiranyaksha ran carrying Bhudevi in his tusks, Lord Mahavishnu took the form of Varaha and went to Patala and rescued Bhudevi, slaying Hiranyaksha. After rescuing Bhudevi, Lord Mahavishnu in Varaha Avatar married Bhudevi and Narakasura is the son of Lord Mahavishnu and Bhudevi. Narakasura true to his name, terrorised the Devas and Gandharvas and humans and imprisoned 16000 women from all the worlds. He harassed the Devasin heaven and stole the kundalas (ear drops) of Devi Athithi. All the Devas went to Lord Mahavishnu and prayed for the end of Narakasura. The Lord answered their prayers and promised to kill Narakasura. Thus in Lord Mahavishnus incarnation as Sree Krishna, He along with his consort Satyabhama went to Pragjyothishapura to kill Narakasura. A fierce battle took place in Pragjyothishapura at the end of which Narakasura was slain. Again there is a different version in which it is said that it was

Sathyabhama who killed Narakasura to avenge the insult on Devi Athithi. Sree Krishna released all the women imprisoned by Narakasura and brought them to his place. People rejoiced at the end of the wicked Narakasura and there was celebration all over and a joyous reception was given to Lord Sree Krishna and Sathyabhama on their return. To this day, Narakachaturdashi is celebrated as Deepavali from then on.

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The Story of Krishna and Narakasura

Bhoomi Devi (mother Earth) had a son named Naraka. Even though Naraka was the son of a divinity, he had the nature of a demon. Naraka was powerful and he took pleasure in terrorising theinhabitants of the three worlds. Narakasura would raid and plunder the kingdoms of the three worlds. He did not even leave the women and would kidnap them for his own personal harem. Narakasura heard that Indra, the king of the devas, had thousands of divine elephants in his army. Now Narakasura, greedy that he was, wanted to possess everything, so he attacked the heavens. Indra was helpless as he watched Naraka's minions plunder the heavens. Naraka himself began pursuit of the devas. While pursuing the devas, a glimmering object far away caught his eye. Upon inspection, he realised that the glimmering object was mother Aditi's (the mother of the devas) earrings. He assaulted mother Aditi and grabbed her earrings. Now Indra, feeling humiliated at his loss and even worse that his mother was assaulted, wanted revenge and he knew that there was only one person who was a match for Naraka. It was Krishna. Indra reached Krishna's palace when Krishna was spending quality time with his wife Satyabhama. He told Krishna about the happenings and begged him for his help. Krishna was enraged that Naraka might lay his hands on mother Aditi and said that Naraka must die for his insolence. Satyabhama looked annoyed because Krishna was about to leave her. Wanting to please both Satyabhama and Indra, Krishna decided to take Satyabhama with him into battle. Krishna summoned his mount Garuda (a giant eagle) and made way towards Naraka's fortress. An impenetrable barrier of magic mountains surrounded Naraka's fortress. The mountains were such that a barrier would come up from any side that Krishna tried to enter the fortress. Krishna, unperturbed, hurled his mace at the barrier and shattered the entire mountain range in one blow. A downpour of magical weapons rained down on them. Krishna fired multiple arrows and destroyed all the weapons. In this manner Krishna destroyed countless other magical barriers and finally reached Naraka's fortress. Naraka's palace was guarded by the five-headed demon Mura. Mura hurled countless weapons at Krishna, but Krishna shot each one down with his bow and arrow. Then Krishna picked up his flying discus and hurled it towards Mura dislocating Mura's five heads. Mura fell to the ground, dead. Krishna challenged Naraka to battle and killed him easily. Bhoomi Devi then sang hymns in praise of Krishna and begged him to take Naraka's son Bhagdatta under his protection. Krishna placed Bhagdatta on the throne and then freed all of Naraka's prisoners. The devas showered Krishna with flowers from the heavens.

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Killing of Narakasura
Narakasura ruled the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram. Puranas have it that Naraka, son of Bhudevi, acquired immense power from a blessing given by Lord Brahma after a severe penance. Under his rule, the villagers suffered a lot of hardship as the demon tortured the people and kidnapped the women to be imprisoned in his palace with his invincible might. Unable to bear the tyranny of the demon, the celestial beings pleaded with Lord Krishna to save them from his torture. But Naraka had a boon that he would face death only at the hands of his mother Bhudevi. So, Krishna asks his wife Sathyabhama, the reincarnation of Bhudevi, to be his charioteer in the battle with Naraka. When Krishna fell unconscious after being hit by an arrow of Naraka, Sathyabhama takes the bow and aims the arrow at Naraka, killing him instantly. Later Lord Krishna reminds her of the boon she had sought as Bhudevi. The Narakasura Vadh by Sathyabhama could also be taken to interpret that parents should not hesitate to punish their children when they step in to the wrong path. The message of Naraka Chaturdashi Parva is that the good of the society should always prevail over one's own personal bonds. It is interesting to note that Bhudevi, mother of the slain demon Naraka, declared that his death should not be a day of mourning but an occasion to celebrate and rejoice. It is said Lord Krishna had an oil bath to rid himself off the blood spattered on his body when Naraka was killed. The tradition is followed and people offer prayers on the previous day of the Naraka Chaturdashi to the vessel in which water is being heated for having bath. Hindus light fireworks, which are regarded as the effigies of Narakasura who was killed on this day.

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Hindu beliefs, Narakasura or Naraka is the asura son of the earth goddess Bhudevi (Bhumi) and Lord Vishnu in his Varaha (boar)Avatar (incarnation). In other sources, he is the son of the asura Hiranyaksha. He is said to have established the kingdom ofPragjyotisha in Assam after overthrowing the last of the Danava king Ghatakasura. It was foretold that he would be destroyed by a later incarnation of Vishnu. His mother, the earth, sought the boon from Vishnu that her son should have a long life, and that he should be all powerful. Vishnu granted these boons. The legend of Narakasura is important in the history of Assam since Narakasura is cited as the progenitor of many dynasties that ruledKamarupa in historical times. A hill, to the south of Guwahati is named after him. He is also associated with the myth of the shaktagoddess and place of worship Kamakhya. Narakasura became evil, in association with another Asura named Banasura. Drunk with power, as he knew himself to be unrivalled in prowess, he brought all the kingdoms on earth under his control. Next, he turned his eyes towards Swargaloka. Even the mighty Indra could not withstand the assault of this son of Earth and had to flee the heavens. Narakasura had become the overlord of both the heavens and earth. Addicted to power, he stole the earrings of Aditi, the heavenly mother goddess, and usurped some of her territory, while also kidnapping 16000 women. All the Devas, led by Indra went to Vishnu, to ask him to deliver them from Narakasura. Vishnu promised them that he would attend to this matter, when he would be incarnated as Krishna. As promised to Mother Earth, Narakasura was allowed to enjoy a long reign. At last Vishnu was born as Krishna. Aditi, who was a relative of Krishna's wife Satyabhama (believed to be an Avatar of Bhudevi Narakasura' mother), approached Satyabhama for help. When Satyabhama heard of the Narakasura's ill treatment of women and his behaviour with Aditi, she was enraged. Satyabhama approached Lord Krishna for permission to wage a war against Narakasura. As promised to the Devas and Aditi, Krishna attacked the great fortress of Narakasura, riding his mount Garudawith wife Satyabhama. The battle was furiously fought. Narakasura possessed 11 Akshauhini (a division of the army), that he unleashed on Krishna. However, the Lord slew them all with little effort. Krishna also killed Mura, Narakasura's general. Thus Krishna is called 'Murri'(the enemy of Mura). In desperation, Narakasura launched his great weapon, sataghini (a thunderbolt) on Krishna. However, it made no impact whatsoever on Krishna. At last, when Narakasura tried to kill the Lord with a trident, Krishna beheaded him with his Sudarshana Chakra (discus). Before dying, the Asura requested a boon that his death anniversary should be celebrated by all people on earth. This day is celebrated as 'Naraka Chaturdashi' - the first day of Diwali. n another version, Narakasura had gained a boon from Brahma that he would die only in the hands of his mother. On the day of the war, Satyabhama with Krishna fought Narakasura bravely, but she was no match to his trained skills. After a few days, when Narakasura got a chance, he took aim at Krishna, hurting him lightly. Krishna fainted in a preordained, divine plan adopted to empower Satyabhama. As expected seeing this, Krishna being hurt, Satyabhama was furious. She doubled her attack on the demon king and finally killed him. Before Narakasura's death, he requested a boon from his mother,

Satyabhama, that everyone should celebrate his death with colorful light. Thus this day is celebrated as the first day of Diwali - 'Naraka Chaturdashi'. Krishna's and Satyabhama's victory on Narakasura translated into freedom for all his prisoners and honoring of Aditi. Having rescued the 16,100 women, Krishna married them to restore them to their former dignity.

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Narakasura was like all smart asuras. When he set out on his path to absolute power and universal destruction, he made sure he was insured for life. He sought his boon from the most gullible of gods, the Creator God Brahma. Lord, you need not grant me immortality, he told Brahma, I have heard that I was born of Bhoomi Devi, Mother Earth herself. So if die, let it be at the hands of my own mother! So be it! said a relieved Brahma. He knew these boon- seeking asuras too well. After taking over all the kingdoms on earth, Narakasura attacked Devaloka. Indra and his demi gods beat a hasty retreat as Narakasura stomped around the heavens. He took 16,000 women from the palaces as prisoners. As he was leaving, he noticed a pair of glowing earrings adorning the ears of Aditi, the mother goddess. Fascinated, he tore the earrings from her ear and left. A weeping Aditi came to Satyabhama, Lord Krishnas consort who at once took her to meet her husband. Lord Krishna, the all-knowing, swung into action. Do not worry, gentle mother, well set things right at once! he said to Aditi kindly. He turned to his wife. Come on Satyabhama! Youve always wanted to join me in battle. Heres your chance! Gather your weapons and well have Garuda take us there. Together, they mounted Garuda, the mighty eagle who transported them to Narakasuras capital Pragjyotishyapur (in modern day Assam). Narakasura saw Krishnas arrival and laughed. Why does he even try? he said to his army commander Mura. I can only be killed by my own mother! Go slay him now! Mura and a huge asura army went to meet the Lord, but Krishna killed all of them effortlessly. Seeing his army chief killed, Narakasura ran out of his palace uttering a fierce war cry accompanied by hundreds of asuras on elephants and horses. He flung a thunder bolt at Krishna but Garuda swooped low and it missed its target. Krishna sent down feathered arrows which killed all the asuras and their mounts. Garuda with his great wings struck this way and that, bringing to ground horses and elephants. Satyabhama too rained arrow after arrow on the army and soon Narakasura was only one left on the battle field. He took his powerful trident and hurled it at Krishna. The trident hit the Lord on his chest and became unconscious. For a moment, Satyabhama couldnt believe what she saw. This cant be, she told herself and aimed an arrow at the asura. It pierced Narakasura right on his chest and he fell with an agonising cry. As an anxious Satyabhama turned to her fallen Lord, Krishna got up with a mischievous smile! He was only playing a part. For Satyabhama was an incarnation of Bhoomi Devi, and it was her arrow which was destined to slay Narakasura.

The sixteen thousand women were freed and the Mother goddesss earrings retrieved. Krishna and Satyabhama returned from battle victorious. And it is to celebrate this victory of good over evil, that we celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights. And why the traditional oil bath you may ask? Well, when Krishna and Satyabhama returned from battle before daybreak, all covered in blood and grime, they needed a cleanup with sandal paste and scented oils. So you too take that oil bath and have a sparkling Diwali!

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