(Krishna decapitates the demon Narakasura with his Sudarshana Chakra)
Immensely powerful demon son of Earth and Hiranyaksha; killed by Krishna. Naraka stole Indra’s mother’s earrings and Indra’s umbrella. (Glossary for the Vahinis)
Naraka is an Asura, a demonic person. His city is named Pragjyotisha-pura; (SSS Vol.8, p. 215)
Krishna is the Divine, one who attracts by His magnetic vibrations. These vibrations represent the Life Force. The Consciousness that animates the Life Force is known as Prajnanam, the source of radiation. When radiation and vibration are active in the body, you have the whole human being.
According to the Puranic story, Narakasura is said to have been destroyed on this day of Naraka Chaturdashi. Narakasura was a demon filled with attachment to bodily pleasures. He was full of bad qualities like lust, anger and greed.
The capital of the kingdom ruled by Narakasura was known as Pragjyotishapuram. The name consists of four syllables: Prag, jyoti, sha, and puram. Prag means before, jyoti means light, and sha refers to forgetting and puram means the body. The inner meaning of this name is that the inhabitants of this city have forgotten the ancient and eternal light (Atma Jyoti). Narakasura, the king of Pragjyotishapuram had totally forgotten the Atmic Principle and was identifying himself with the body and leading a life in darkness of ignorance (SSS Vol.31).
Together the term refers to the heart. The inner meaning of the term is that the man in his body is forgetting the light, the Atma jyoti, in him. Nara has various meanings. One is Atma. Another meaning is that which is not permanent. As Nara, man has forgotten his true spiritual state. When bad qualifies enter the city of nara, man becomes Narakasura (a demonic being). The term Narakasura also means one who carries people to Naraka (hell). (SSS Vol.21)
The inner meaning of this is that demonic forces dwell in any place where the Atma is forgotten. All the chaos and evil in the world today are due to the fact that men have forgotten the Atma (the Supreme Spirit). Every man. is conscious of the body and of the individual soul, but is not conscious of the Paramatma (Divinity) within him.
From sheath of food to sheath of Bliss
Man is encased in five koshas (sheaths): Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vijnanamaya and Anandamaya koshas. The physical body is the Annamaya kosha (the sheath based on food). Man takes good care of the body. Man also takes care of the Pranamaya kosha as he cannot: exist without the life-breath. Without the Manomaya kosha (the mental sheath), man cannot accomplish any of his desires. Man today has progressed upto the stage of caring for the first three sheaths. Upto this stage his vision is turned towards the external. The Vijnanamaya kosha calls for internal vision. It leads to the understanding of the Anandamaya kosha (the sheath of Supreme Bliss).
Starting from the sheath of food man should progress towards the sheath of Bliss and not get stuck up midway in the mental sheath. This is the reason for man getting filled with demonic qualities, which can only lead him to Naraka (hell). The demonic qualities (symbolised by Narakasura) have to be destroyed to avoid being thrust into Naraka (hell). By taking refuge in Krishna, the destroyer of Narakasura, man can get rid of the demonic qualities in him. On Deepavali day, we light numerous lamps with one candle. The light with which other lamps are lit is a symbol of the Divine. The other lamps are Jivana jyotis (individual lamps). They derive their light from the One Supreme Light. It is to teach this truth to men that the Festival of Lights is observed. (SSS Vol.22)
One has to develop attachment to the Self, not to the body. Attachment to the body is the main cause for all sufferings. One who travels toward ignorance is Naraka, and one who travels toward wisdom is Nara, the human. To travel along the path of wisdom one needs to develop sacred thoughts, sacred words, and sacred actions.
God does not like to kill the wicked Himself. So Krishna devised a master plan to kill Narakasura. Since Narakasura was very strong both physically and mentally, Krishna decided to weaken him gradually by subjecting him to fits of anger. The modus operandi was to provoke Narakasura, and when he would come chasing in a fit of anger, Krishna would withdraw. Anger is the main cause for man to lose his physical and mental powers. If one gets angry, one loses the energy obtained from the food partaken over a period of three months. When Narakasura lost all his strength due to his anger, Krishna made Satyabhama kill him. God has His own master plan for everything because He is the master of everything.
Narakasura committed many sins in his life. He imprisoned thousands of women and tortured them. They were the sixteen thousand gopikas (cowherd maids). They could neither live nor die. Such was their pitiable condition. He was a terror to women and perpetrated many evil deeds, inviting his own destruction at the hands of a woman, Satyabhama, the consort of Sri Krishna.
After Narakasura was killed, Krishna freed them from prison and asked them to return to their respective homes and lead a peaceful life. But all the gopikas fell at Krishna’s feet and pleaded that it would be impossible for them to live in dignity in their homes after being prisoners of Narakasura. They said that Krishna was their only refuge and prayed that He would take care of them. Krishna agreed to take the responsibility of protecting them. Then the gopikas sang in praise of Krishna thus:
O Krishna!
It is impossible to describe Your glory in words.
Even Brahma, the Creator cannot understand You.
We have been longing for your divine grace.
Listen to our prayers and protect us.
You freed Devaki-Vasudeva from prison.
You saved the honour of Draupadi and
Protected the Pandavas.
You removed the poverty of Kuchela.
You turned ugly Kubja into a beautiful woman.
You freed sixteen thousand gopikas from prison.
[Telugu song]
When Narakasura was killed, all those who suffered under him were overjoyed. Having led a life of darkness till then, both internally and externally, they celebrated the occasion by lighting lamps. (SSS Vol. 31, p.386-387)
It is worthy of note that the Lord gave this opportunity to Satyabhama only after subjecting her to a cleansing process to rid her of her pride and jealousy as revealed in the Tulabharam episode, where Satyabhama was advised by Narada to make a gift of Krishna to him and win him back by offering an equivalent weight of gold and jewellery. When Satyabhama offered all the valuables she possessed, it had no effect. Ultimately a Tulasi leaf offered by Rukmini with a prayer to Krishna tilted the balance. Thereby Satyabhama was cured of her pride and jealousy. Apart from this Puranic version, there is a cosmic explanation for the observance of Deepavali. Naraka was a planet moving in orbit with the moon around the earth. Once it appeared to be heading towards the earth. People prayed to Lord Krishna to avert the impending catastrophe. The Lord had to take action to destroy this planet and save the world from disaster. From that day, Deepavali was being observed as a joyous day of deliverance from evil.
Egoism is of earth, earthy; not of heaven, heavenly. So, Naraka is the son of Earth. And, he is called Naraka, Nara means, man, who knows his manas (mind), who practises manana (discrimination of reflection on what he has heard and what he has been taught). But Naraka which means hell, is the name appropriate to one who believes he is the body and toils to cater to its needs and its clamour. When man grows in physical strength, economic power, mental alacrity, intellectual scholarship and political authority and does not grow in spiritual riches, he becomes a danger to society and a calamity to himself. He is a Naraka to his neighbours and his kin. He sees only the many, not the One; he is drawn by the scintillating manifold into the downward path of perdition.
Asuras (demons) have another name in Sanskrit – Naktancharas (नक्तञ्चर)---those who move about in the dark. This is a fair description of their pathetic condition. They have no light to guide them; they do not recognise that they are in the dark; they do not call out for light; they are unaware of the light. Their intellect has become the bond-slave of their passions and their senses, instead of establishing itself as their master. When at last, truth appears before them and overwhelms them, they recognise the One and merge happily in it.
The lamp is not merely the symbol of the knowledge to Truth. It is also the symbol of the One, the Atma that shines in and through all this multiplicity. Just as with one lamp, a thousand lamps can be lit and the One is as bright as ever despite the thousands deriving light from it, so too, the Atma (soul-spirit) illumines the jiva (individual self) and shines in and through them, without undergoing any diminution in its splendour. The Atma is the cause; all else are effects.
Naraka sought to act freely, as his emotions and passions dictated. But, the Sanskrit word used for this kind of license has another and deeper meaning: Sva-iccha, one s desire, means, the desire, if at all, only for merger absorbing the sparks that have emanated from it, the waves that play upon its surface. The Upanishads call upon man to roam about in the jungle of life as the King of Beasts, the Lion, and not as panic-stricken cowardly sheep ashamed to lift its head. Face the six foes that are ferociously gnawing the heart of man - lust, anger, attachment, pride, hatred, greed---and be Man, Nara, not Naraka, who cringes before these foes and tries to propitiate them by yielding to their demands. When man fails to use his attainments for the welfare of others he becomes a Narakasura (hellish demon). (SSS Vol.8, pp. 216-217)
Lord Krishna, accompanied by Satyabhama, went to wage a battle with the demon Narakasura. A fierce battle ensued and the demon died at hands of Satyabhama. Being the all-powerful one, Krishna could have killed Narakasura without Satyabhama’s help. Then why did He take her help? Narakasura, being a wicked demon, did not deserve to even die at the hands of Krishna. As he had subjected thousands of women to untold suffering, Krishna decided that he should be killed by a woman. Narakasura had imprisoned thousands of princesses who were great devotees of the Lord. They were the very embodiments of love and contemplated on Him incessantly. After slaying Narakasura, Krishna granted them freedom. It is in this context that Saint Tyagaraja extolled the Lord saying,’ You have protected the sixteen thousand Gopikas.’
Man should understand the truth that God is present in all beings and conduct himself accordingly. That is his primary duty. He should not only contemplate on divinity but also sing His glory. There was a grand celebration in the kingdom of Narakasura when he was slain. So long he was alive, the hearts of the people were engulfed in darkness. When he was ultimately killed, there was joyous celebration all around. With his death, the darkness of ignorance and hatred was dispelled. People symbolically celebrated the occasion by lighting lamps. Just as bats find their way into a house engulfed in darkness, likewise, wicked qualities enter the heart filled with darkness of ignorance. Only bats like to live in darkness, not human beings. You should not live like bats, in darkness of ignorance.
Today (Naraka Chaturdashi) is the day on which Naraka, the demon was killed. What does this event signify? It signifies killing the demon in man. ‘Nara’ means man and ‘Asura’ means demon. This demon is present in every human being. It is not necessary to acquire great Astras and Shastras (weapons) to kill this demon. Man is called ‘Nara’ because there is Atma in him. That Atma is the embodiment of love. It is possible to kill the demons only through love. Therefore, realise the Atma-tattva and develop love. This is true Bhakti (devotion). There is nothing in this world, which cannot be achieved with Love. What is Narakasura Vadha? It is destroying evil qualities and demonic nature in man with the weapon of Love. (DD on 04.11.02, pp. 4-5,8)