🪔 Narak Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) Puja Vidhi — step by step
The day's vidhi has two parts — the pre-dawn bath and the evening lamp offering. In a year when the two fall on different days, check the table and follow it.
How to do Narak Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — the steps
- Rise before sunrise, in Arunodaya; massage the whole body with sesame oil (abhyang) — especially the head, ears, navel and soles. In Maharashtra and South India the senior woman of the house applies oil to the heads of family members.
- After the oil, apply ubtan — gram flour or barley flour, turmeric, sandalwood powder and a little milk or curd; in Maharashtra ready-made 'utane' is sold for the day. Leave it on for a while and rub it off gently.
- An old custom during the bath is to wave a twig of apamarg (chirchita / prickly chaff-flower) three times over the head — 'Sitaloshtha-samayukta sakantaka-dalanvita, hara papam apamarga bhramyamanah punah punah'; many homes simply add its leaves to the bath water.
- Bathe with warm water and put on clean or new clothes; apply a tilak and bow to Lord Krishna. In Maharashtra and Goa, after the bath, a small bitter fruit called karit (chirate) is crushed underfoot — a symbol of Narakasura's defeat.
- Yama Tarpan: facing south, offer handfuls of water mixed with a few black sesame seeds while reciting the fourteen names of Yamraj — 'Yamaya Dharmarajaya Mrityave chantakaya cha, Vaivasvataya Kalaya Sarvabhutakshayaya cha, Audumbaraya Dadhnaya Nilaya Parameshthine, Vrikodaraya Chitraya Chitraguptaya vai namah'; then fold your hands and bow.
- Yama Deepdaan in the evening Pradosh Kaal: a four-faced lamp of dough or clay with mustard or sesame oil and four wicks; place it outside the main door, at the threshold, facing south, and pray for the family's well-being and long life.
- Then light diyas in every corner of the house, the kitchen, the water place, the Tulsi, the courtyard and the door — 14 lamps in many homes (the number of the Chaturdashi); in Bengal, 14 lamps (choddo prodeep) in the dark corners of the house.
- Families whose custom it is do Hanuman puja in the evening or at night (sindoor chola, Hanuman Chalisa, boondi laddoo as bhog), or, as in Gujarat, worship Mahakali or the family goddess on Kali Chaudas; distribute prasad after the aarti and prepare for the next day's Lakshmi Puja.
Puja samagri checklist
Most of these items come with your Dhanteras-Diwali shopping; keep the bath items ready the night before — there is no time to search for them at dawn.
- Sesame oil — for the massage (mustard oil in many homes)
- Ubtan — gram/barley flour, turmeric, sandalwood powder, milk or curd (or ready-made utane)
- A twig or leaves of apamarg (chirchita) — if available
- Clean or new clothes, towel, warm water for the bath
- A copper lota for tarpan, black sesame seeds, water, kusha grass (if available)
- Four-faced lamp of dough or clay for the Yama lamp, four wicks, oil
- Earthen diyas (14 or more), ghee/oil, cotton wicks
- Roli, akshat, turmeric, flower garland, incense, camphor, aarti thali
- A picture of Lord Krishna; for those whose custom it is, a picture of Hanuman ji or Mahakali, sindoor, jasmine oil
- Bhog — sweets, fruit, kheel-batasha; faral in Maharashtra, choddo shaak in Bengal
Narak Chaturdashi bhog and food
A fast is not compulsory on Narak Chaturdashi — it is a day of the ritual bath, the lamp offering and Diwali preparations; but some homes linked to Hanuman puja or the Rantideva katha keep a day fast. The food varies greatly from region to region.
- Bengal: choddo shaak on Bhoot Chaturdashi — a dish of fourteen leafy greens such as neem and mustard, eaten at lunch
- Maharashtra: the first faral after the abhyang snan — chakli, karanji, shankarpali, chivda, besan laddoo, anarse
- Tamil Nadu: Deepavali marundhu (a digestive lehiyam of dry ginger, ajwain, jaggery and ghee) after the oil bath, followed by sweets
- Gujarat: urad dal vadas on Kali Chaudas — in many homes both as bhog and at the meal
- North India: Diwali sweets (gujiya, laddoo, barfi), boondi laddoo or churma for Hanuman ji; a simple sattvik meal in the evening
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Take the sesame-oil massage and ubtan bath before sunrise, in Arunodaya — check the table for the bath day
- After the bath, face south for the Yama tarpan or at least a bow, and remember Lord Krishna
- Do place the south-facing four-faced Yama lamp at the door in the evening Pradosh Kaal
- Light diyas in the dark corners, kitchen, water place and at the Tulsi — so the house is bright before the next day's Lakshmi Puja
- Give food or clothes to someone in need during the day — the message of the Rantideva katha
❌ Don't
- Sleeping past sunrise on this morning — dawn is the time for the abhyang snan
- Stepping over, moving or putting out the Yama lamp; placing it facing any direction other than south
- Throwing the spent diyas into the garbage the next morning — once cool, place them respectfully under a tree or in the soil, or wash and reuse them
- Leaving curtains or cloth near burning lamps, or children alone with crackers
- Being swayed by fear-mongering rituals in the name of Kali Chaudas or Bhoot Chaturdashi — it is a day of worship and remembering the ancestors
Vrat katha
Narakasura, son of Bhudevi (the Earth goddess), had been granted a boon, but drunk on power he turned into a tyrant — he attacked heaven, snatched the earrings of Aditi, mother of the gods, and imprisoned sixteen thousan… Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When is Narak Chaturdashi in {Y}? Why can Choti Diwali and the Abhyang Snan fall on different days?
The table above gives this year's Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi dates from panchang calculations. Choti Diwali (Yama Deepdaan) is on the day when Chaturdashi prevails in Pradosh Kaal, while the Abhyang Snan is taken on the morning when Chaturdashi prevails at Arunodaya (before sunrise). Because the tithi's length varies, these can fall on two different days — the bath is then on the morning of Lakshmi Puja day; see the five-day dates for your city on the Diwali city-wise page (e.g. /en/vrat/diwali/lucknow).
How is Yama Deepdaan done?
In the evening Pradosh Kaal, take a four-faced lamp of dough or clay, fill it with oil, set four wicks and place it outside the main door facing south. Fold your hands and pray to Yamraj for the family's protection and long life; let the lamp burn out on its own — do not step over it or move it.
Why is ubtan applied on Roop Chaudas?
The Roop Chaudas bath stands for cleansing and radiance of the body — the oil massage nourishes skin and joints before winter, and an ubtan of gram flour, turmeric and sandalwood lifts away dirt and cleans the skin. Traditionally this dawn bath is seen as release from the fear of naraka and as preparing body and mind for the whole festival of lamps.
Is this Deepavali itself in South India?
Yes — in Tamil Nadu and much of South India, the morning of Naraka Chaturdashi is Deepavali: the pre-dawn oil bath, new clothes, crackers and sweets all happen on this day. The Amavasya evening Lakshmi Puja is not as central there as in the North, though in Karnataka and many trading families Lakshmi puja is also done on the Amavasya.
What are Kali Chaudas and Bhoot Chaturdashi?
In Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan this Chaturdashi is called Kali Chaudas — Mahakali, Hanuman ji or the family goddess is worshipped at night to keep negativity away from the home. In Bengal it is Bhoot Chaturdashi — 14 lamps are lit in memory of the ancestors and 14 kinds of greens are eaten; Kali Puja follows on the Amavasya.
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