Hindu festival
Kali Puja
Also known as Shyama Puja, Mahanisha Puja.
In short
Kali Puja is the night worship of the goddess Kali, on the Kartik new moon — the same night as Diwali — kept chiefly in Bengal and the east. At midnight the fierce, liberating Mother is worshipped with red hibiscus and offerings, invoked as the destroyer of evil, fear, and the ego.
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When is Kali Puja?
- This year’s date
- Set by the panchang each year from the rule below. Godify shows a specific date only once it is confirmed against an authoritative panchang — never guessed.
- Tithi / rule
- The Amavasya (new moon) of Kartik — the same night as Diwali / Lakshmi Puja — kept at midnight (nishita)
- Calendar
- Lunar calendar (tithi-based)
- Deity
- Kali
Observed chiefly in Bengal, Assam, and the east, at midnight on the Kartik Amavasya — the same night the rest of India keeps Lakshmi Puja for Diwali.
The story of Kali Puja
Kali is the Divine Mother in her fiercest form — dark as the boundless, garlanded with the heads of the ego's illusions, standing upon Shiva. Terrible to the demons she destroys, she is utter tenderness to her children; her darkness is the womb from which all light is born.
Where much of India lights lamps for Lakshmi on the Kartik Amavasya, Bengal and the east keep vigil at midnight for Kali. Saints like Ramakrishna knew her as the most intimate face of God — the Mother who frees the soul by burning away all it clings to.
How is Kali Puja celebrated?
The goddess is worshipped at midnight with red hibiscus, offerings, and lamps; in Bengal grand pandals rise on the same night as Diwali, and devotees keep vigil through the dark of the Kartik new moon.
A mantra to mark the day
ॐ क्रीं कालिकायै नमः
oṃ krīṃ kālikāyai namaḥ
I bow to Kali, fierce mother who dissolves fear and the ego.
Temples for Kali Puja
More Hindu festivals
About Kali Puja
When is Kali Puja?
At midnight on the Amavasya (new moon) of Kartik — the same night as Diwali. The exact Gregorian date is set by the panchang each year.
How is Kali Puja related to Diwali?
It falls on the same Kartik new-moon night: much of India worships Lakshmi for Diwali, while Bengal and the east keep the midnight worship of Kali.
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