Kālī Pūjā is the principal worship of Devī Kālī in Bengal, Odisha and Assam, kept on the Amāvāsyā night that most of India celebrates as Dīpāvali. The Devī Māhātmya tells how Kālī sprang from the Devī's brow in battle-fury against the demon Raktabīja, whose every drop of spilled blood raised a fresh clone the instant it touched the ground. She drank his blood from his wounds before any could fall and swallowed the clones as fast as they arose. She is worshipped as the mistress of kāla, time and its dissolution, in the darkest hour of the darkest night. How the day is fixed: The pañcāṅga takes Kārtika Amāvāsyā, the Dīpāvali new-moon night. Bengali and Odia calendars name the month Kārtika, while amānta calendars call the same night Āśvina Amāvāsyā. Keep in mind: The worship belongs to Niśītha, the midnight hour, held most propitious for the goddess of time. The pūjā therefore runs deep into the night rather than at dusk. This year: The 2027 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Midnight pūjā: Red hibiscus garlands and red sindūr are the essential offerings. Many older temples once offered animal sacrifice, and a great many pūjās today offer sugarcane or ash gourd as a symbolic substitute. Lamps and fireworks: Because it is the Dīpāvali night, homes, roofs and ledges are lined with lamps and candles and the sky fills with fireworks. Dakshineswar, Kalighat and Tarapith draw devotees through the night. Worth remembering: The Lakṣmī Pūjā of Dīpāvali falls on the same night in most regions but is a separate observance. In Bengal, Bhūt Caturdaśī with its fourteen lamps comes the evening before and Bhai Phonta two days later, and in Odisha the ancestors are called with jute sticks in the Badabaduā ḍāka on this evening. Whether the pūjā is kept at home or in the neighbourhood maṇḍapa, and what is offered, follow family and regional custom. In Odisha many towns keep Kālī Pūjā with almost the pomp of Durgā Pūjā, while in Bengal the few days around it feel like a second Pūjā season. Whatever the scale, the surest guide is the way the elders of one's own house have kept the night.
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