Kali Puja
Goddess Kali
Observed by	Hindus
Type	Hinduism
Celebrations	Fireworks
Observances	Puja,prasadam
Date	Ashwayuja 30 (Amanta) Karthika 15 (Purnimanta)
2025 date	20 October
2026 date	8 November
2027 date	29 October
Frequency	Every year

Kali Puja (ISO:Kālī Pūjā), also known asShyama Puja orMahanisha Puja,^[1] is a festival originating from theIndian subcontinent, dedicated to theHindu goddessKali. It is celebrated on the new moon day (Dipannita Amavasya) of theHindu calendar month ofAshwayuja (according to theamanta tradition) orKartika (according to thepurnimanta tradition). The festival is especially popular in the regions ofBarasat,Naihati,Kolkata,Basirhat^[2] andTamluk inWest Bengal,Bhagalpur^[3] inBihar'sAnga,^[4] and other places likeJharkhand,Odisha,Assam, andTripura. Along with the neighbouring country ofBangladesh.

Descriptions of Kali in Sanskrit texts from the late medieval period point to her growing popularity alongside other goddesses.^[5] She appears in the vernacular genre ofmangalkavya in the 17th century, and theKalikamangalkavya describes worship to Kali.^[6]

Kali Puja is a major festival in West Bengal.^[7] Kali Puja became widespread in the eighteenth century through patrons.^[8] In Bengal during the 18th century, King Krishnachandra ofNadia also made this puja wide spread.^[9] Kali Puja saw a surge in popularity in the 19th century, coinciding with the rise in prominence of the Kali devotee Sri Ramakrishna among Bengalis. This period marked a significant shift, as affluent landowners began to sponsor the festival extensively, leading to grander and more elaborate celebrations.^[8]

Kali Puja is a reminder for devotees that they depend on Kali, who can be either compassionate or wrathful, and thus their life is fragile.^[10]

Kali Puja takes place on the same night asDiwali.^[11]

During Kali Puja worshippers honor the goddess Kali in their homes in the form of claysculptures and inpandals (temporary shrines or open pavilions). She is worshipped at night withtantric rites andmantras. She is prescribed offerings of redhibiscus flowers, sweets, rice, and lentils. It is prescribed that a worshipper should meditate throughout the night until dawn.^[12] Homes andpandals may also practice rites in theBrahmanical (mainstream Hindu-style, non-Tantric) tradition with ritual dressing of Kali in her form as Adya Shakti Kali and no animals are sacrificed. She is offered food and sweets made of rice, lentils, and fruits.^[13]

However, in Tantric tradition, animals areritually sacrificed on Kali Puja day and offered to the goddess.^[9] A celebration of Kali Puja inKolkata is held in a largecremation ground^[14] (Kali is believed to dwell in cremation grounds).^[15]Barasat-Madhyamgram,Tamluk,Ranaghat,Barrackpore,Naihati,Basirhat, areas of South Bengal andSiliguri,Dhupguri,Dinhata,Coochbehar area of North Bengal is well known for their majestic pandals, lightings and Idols. Meanwhile Barasat's Kali Puja celebration is the largest in the entire West Bengal. Durga Puja of Kolkata is often said synonymously with Kali Puja of Barasat. The region experiences Lacs of footfalls during the days of the festival. People from different regions gather to witness the majesticpandals.

Thepandals also house images of Kali's consort,Shiva, two famous Bengali Kali devotees namedRamakrishna andBamakhepa, along with scenes from mythology of Kali and her various forms, including images of theMahavidyas, sometimes considered as the "ten Kalis." The Mahavidyas is a group of ten Tantric goddesses headed by Kali.^[16] People visit thesepandals throughout the night. Kali Puja is also the time for magic shows, theater, and fireworks.^[17] Recent custom has incorporated wine consumption.^[18]

In the Kalighat Temple in Kolkata, Kali is worshipped asLakshmi on this day. The temple is visited by thousands of devotees who give offerings to the goddess.^[9][14] Another famous temple dedicated to Kali in Kolkata isDakshineswar Kali Temple, where Sri Rāmakrishna performed rites.^[a]

Kali Puja is a significant festival in theAnga region ofBihar, particularly inBhagalpur. It is also celebrated in other regions of Bihar likeMunger,Katihar andPurnea.

Bhagalpur's Kali Puja is a cultural vibrance with hundreds of Kali Puja Pandals throughout the district. Bhagalpur city has grand celebrations decked up with lights and pandals and a fervulent procession (which resembles the Carnival). The procession is not a new trend here, but a tradition that is followed as trend these days by many. After the puja, around 80-90 idols decks up in a line starting from the Station chowk to Kali visarjan ghat, and the procession with tableau from different puja committees, vibrant Aarti and lightings makes the city joyous and at the same time emotional.

The traditional procession has completed its 71years in 2024.^[19] But, it is not the only procession, another procession with around 35-40 idols are taken from the Nathnagar area to Champa nadi ghat. Nonetheless, Bihpur of Bhagalpur has its own grand visarjan with 22 feet idols taken on the shoulders. The Bengali communities and Bari (Private) pujas do their ritual processions earlier than the bigger ones.

The largest traditional idol of Bhagalpur is of Bahbalpur Puja committee^[20] which is around 32feet. Other big Kali idols include Parbatti Budhiya Kali (22feet), Maheshpur Badi Kali(25feet), Jarlahi (25 feet), Budhanath's Bama Kali (21 feet), etc.

Although the widely popular annual Kali Puja celebration, also known as theDipanwita Kali Puja, is celebrated on the new moon day of the month ofKartika, Kali is also worshipped in other new moon days too. Three other major Kali Puja observations areRatanti Kali Puja,Phalaharini Kali Puja andKaushiki Amavasya Kali Puja. Kaushiki amavasya Kali Puja is greatly associated with the goddess Tara of Tarapith as it is considered the day when Devi Tara appeared on earth and blessed sadhakBamakhepa, also according to the legends on this day the doors of both the "Naraka" and the "swarga" open for some time, while Ratanti puja is celebrated onMagha Krishna Chaturdashi and Phalaharini puja is celebrated onJyeshta Amavashya of Bengali calendar. ThePhalaharini Kali Puja is especially important in the life of the saintRamakrishna and his wifeSarada Devi, since on this day in 1872, Ramakrishna worshipped Sarada Devi as the goddessShodashi.^[21] In many Bengali and Assamese households, Kali is worshipped daily.^[22]

Generally all music dedicated to goddess MotherKali is called 'Shyama Sangeet' inBengali. Two famous singers of this Bengali Shyama Sangeet arePannalal Bhattacharya andDhananjay Bhattacharya. Pannalal Bhattacharya's elder brother Prafulla Bhattacharya and middle brotherDhananjay Bhattacharya were the first music teachers of saint artistPannalal Bhattacharya.Dhananjay Bhattacharya stopped singing devotional songs after finding devotional spirit in his brother Pannalal. However, after the demise ofPannalal Bhattacharya, he contributed again inBengali music with many devotional songs by his sweet, melodious voice.

...

• Banerjee, Suresh Chandra (1991).Shaktiranga Bangabhumi [Bengal, The Abode of Shaktism] (in Bengali) (1st ed.). Kolkata: Ananda Publishers Pvt Ltd.ISBN 81-7215-022-9.
• Fuller, Christopher John (2004).The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India. Princeton University Press.ISBN 978-0-691-12048-5.
• Gambhirananda, Swami (1955).Holy Mother Shri Sarada Devi (1st ed.). Madras: Shri Ramakrishna Ashrama.
• Harding, Elizabeth U. (1998).Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar. India: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.ISBN 978-81-208-1450-9.
• Kinsley, David R. (1997).Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahavidyas. University of California Press.ISBN 978-0-520-91772-9.
• McDaniel, June (2004).Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-534713-5.
• McDermott, Rachel Fell (2001).Mother of My Heart, Daughter of My Dreams: Kali and Uma in the Devotional Poetry of Bengal. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-803071-3.
• McDermott, Rachel Fell; Kripal, Jeffrey John (2003).Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West. University of California Press.ISBN 978-0-520-23240-2.

• McDermott, Rachel Fell (2011).Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal: The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals. Columbia University Press.ISBN 978-0-231-12919-0.
• Kali Puja. Translated by Saraswati, Swami Satyananda. 1st World Publishing. 1999.ISBN 1-887472-64-9.

• Media related toKali Puja at Wikimedia Commons
• Kali PujaArchived 12 April 2019 at theWayback Machine celebrated in India and Bangladesh

• Hindu festivals
• Religious festivals in India
• Festivals in West Bengal
• Festivals in Odisha
• Shaktism
• October observances
• November observances
• Kali
• Public holidays in Bangladesh
• Hindu festivals in Bangladesh

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