Chhoti Diwali — Kali Chaudas, the dawn Krishna and Satyabhama freed the world of Narakasura: the pre-sunrise abhyanga snan, fourteen lamps, and the day before the great night. Exact dates for Ottawa, computed for your timezone.
When: Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi — the day before Diwali night; exact Ottawa dates below
The story: Krishna, with Satyabhama at the reins, slays the demon-king Narakasura and frees sixteen thousand captives
The rite: Abhyanga snan — oil and ubtan bath before sunrise, washing the year's darkness off the body
Other names: Chhoti Diwali, Kali Chaudas, Roop Chaudas, Bhoot Chaturdashi (Bengal's fourteen lamps)
The evening: Fourteen diyas lit; in Goa, effigies of Narakasura burn at dawn
The Dawn the Prison Opened
The second Diwali day carries the cycle's great victory story. Narakasura, demon king of Pragjyotisha, had grown monstrous enough to imprison sixteen thousand princesses and steal the earrings of Aditi, mother of the gods. Krishna rode against him with his queen Satyabhama at the chariot reins — and by a boon that Naraka could die only at a woman's hand, tradition gives Satyabhama the killing arrow. The captives were freed and given honour, and the dying demon asked one grace: that his death-day be kept with lamps. So it is — Naraka Chaturdashi is the festival of a prison flung open, the small Diwali before the great one.
The Oil Bath and the Fourteen Lamps
The day's signature rite happens before the sun is up: the abhyanga snan, a bath taken in the last dark of night with sesame oil and fragrant ubtan paste, in the tradition that Ganga herself dwells in the morning's oil and washes off everything the year has left on the skin — which is why Maharashtra and Gujarat rise at 4 a.m. for it, and why the day is also Roop Chaudas, the fortnight's day of beauty. Bengal keeps it as Bhoot Chaturdashi, lighting fourteen lamps for fourteen forefathers at the house's dark corners; Goa burns Narakasura in effigy at dawn; Gujarat's Kali Chaudas offers the goddess her fiercest night of worship. Exact Ottawa dates for the whole Diwali cluster are in the Festivals & Dates list on this page.
Chhoti Diwali in Ottawa & Canada
In Canadian homes Naraka Chaturdashi is the deep breath before Diwali night: the oil bath moves to a sensible pre-dawn hour (sesame oil warmed on the stove, ubtan from the Indian grocer or homemade with besan and turmeric), the fourteen diyas are set out at dusk, and the house gets its final polish for Lakshmi Puja tomorrow. It is also the evening to finish rangoli in the warm indoors and test the lamp wicks. Many Ottawa families fold the day's puja into the evening — a short Krishna aarti recalling the victory — before the main event. Our computed Ottawa dates, this year and next, are below.
Each link opens our computed festival calendar with exact dates and timings for your city.
Questions
When is Naraka Chaturdashi this year in Ottawa?
It falls on Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi, the day before Diwali night — the exact Ottawa date is in the Festivals & Dates list on this page, computed for the Canadian timezone.
What exactly is the abhyanga snan?
A bath before sunrise with sesame oil massage and ubtan paste — tradition holds that Ganga dwells in that morning's oil, so the bath carries a holy dip's merit and washes the year's darkness away.
Is Chhoti Diwali the same as Kali Chaudas?
Same tithi, different emphases — Chhoti Diwali is the lamp-lighting eve of Diwali, while Gujarat's Kali Chaudas keeps the night for the Goddess's fierce protective worship. Bengal adds its fourteen ancestral lamps as Bhoot Chaturdashi.
Source: Bhagavata Purana (Narakasura vadha); Diwali five-day cycle. Regional versions may vary — this text follows the version most widely used in community worship.