(Other names: Narkaasur, Narkasoor)
In the Mahabharata and the Puranas, there is a description of Narkasur, the demon, who was the king of Pragjyotishpur. According to the ancient stories, Narkasur was born when Lord Vishnu in his Varah incarnation (one of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu) came in contact with Prithvi (earth).
Narkasur was a very strong and cruel demon.He had kidnapped sixteen thousand girls and eight nymphs of the Devtas (deities) and demigods and kept them on Bhavi Mountain near Alka Nagari.
He had snatched earrings of Indra’s mother Aditi and canopy of Varundev (God of sea).
He also had wished to own Indra’s carrier Airaawat, the elephant.Indra got scared with Narkasur so he pleaded Krishna to kill him.
At this, Shree Krishna went to Pragjyotishpur and killed Narkasur with his Sudarshan chakra (a wheel).Shree Krishna freed sixteen thousand girls and also brought a lot of wealth from there to Dwarka.
The day when Narkasur was killed by Krishna is celebrated in India as Narak chaudashi, which is also the second day of the Diwali festival.
