Kali Puja 2025 in Bengal On Diwali Night – Symbolism – Importance – History – Rare Facts – Goddess Kali Puja in Eastern Parts of India

Kali Puja is observed on the Amavasya day in the month of Ashwin as per traditional Bengali calendar. Kali Puja 2025 date is October 20. The puja and ritual is dedicated to Goddess Kali and is widely held in eastern parts of India, mainly in Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Tripura and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and coincide with the Diwali festival. Most rituals associated with the Kali Puja begin at midnight.

History Of Kali Puja In Bengal On Kartik Amavasya Night

The ritualistic worship of Kali on Diwali night is believed to have been popularized by Krishnananda Agamavagisha, a 16th-century Tantric scholar from Bengal.

Raja Krishnachandra of Nadia (18th century) played a key role in promoting Kali Puja. Later, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, a great mystic saint and devotee of Kali, brought national and spiritual attention to the goddess.

Kali Puja night is believed by some scholars to be linked to the ancient Yogini cults, where the 64 Yoginis, fierce female spirits, are invoked in circular or open-air shrines.

How Is Kali Puja Observed On Diwali Night?

In many areas in eastern India, Kali puja is a community festival and huge black idols of Goddess Kali is worshipped on the day. Hundreds of pandals dedicated to Goddess Kali are prepared on the day for public puja. New black idols of Goddess Kali are installed for the puja and later immersed in Ganga or other water bodies. Another tradition is the bursting of the crackers.

Kali’s idol often stands on Lord Shiva, symbolizing how divine power must be grounded or tempered by consciousness. Her tongue sticking out reflects shame for stepping on her consort, or fierce rage, depending on interpretations.

Kali is worshipped at midnight, unlike other Hindu deities. The rituals often involve Tantric rites, offerings of hibiscus flowers, sweets, and even symbolic animal sacrifices in some traditional forms.

Bengal matches the rest of India with fireworks and diyas, but these are offered to Kali instead of Lakshmi. It’s believed that the loud sounds scare away evil spirits.

On the morning of Kali Puja (Amavasya), people perform Tarpan (ancestral offerings) on riverbanks, seeking peace for their departed ancestors.

Kalighat and Dakshineswar Kali Temples in Kolkata see massive footfall during this night, with special rituals conducted into the early morning hours.

Kali Puja night (Amavasya or the no moon) is considered one of the most potent nights for Tantra. Many Tantric practitioners gather at cremation grounds (shmashans) to perform secretive rituals, believing that Kali appears in her most powerful form here.

Some traditional practitioners perform rituals invoking five forms of Kali: Dakshina Kali, Shmashana Kali, Bhadra Kali, Chamunda Kali, and Maha Kali, each with different powers and purposes.

Tantric homas (fire rituals) on this night may include hemp (bhang), red chillies, ghee, mustard oil, and even symbolic blood-like offerings made from beetroot or red sandalwood.

Some Interesting Facts

In some elite or traditional households, the tongue of the Kali idol is made of silver or even gold, and removed the next day before visarjan (immersion), then reused year after year.

In certain Shakta households, offerings to Kali include red hibiscus, rice, lentils, sweets, alcohol (usually rum or wine), and even fish or meat—representing a break from vegetarian rituals and a nod to earthly acceptance.

While Kolkata gets much of the attention, Chandannagar in West Bengal is known for spectacular light displays during Kali Puja, often using French-style lighting (a legacy of its French colonial past).

Some Tantric mantras chanted on this night are not shared publicly—even among priests—because they’re believed to invoke raw, unfiltered cosmic energy and must be handled only by trained sadhaks.

In many old households, the Kali idol is not immersed. Instead, a small symbolic earthen idol or image is worshipped and kept for years, representing the permanent presence of the mother in the house.

Some traditional Tantric rituals on the night include offering sweets or rice balls to Yama (god of death) and wandering spirits, seeking protection from untimely death or restless energies.

Final Reflections

Goddess Kali is believed to be the human form of the anger of Goddess Durga and she appears to annihilate the most terrible evil. She incarnated to destroy Demon Rakhta Beeja. In some regions, she is equated with Goddess Chandika and Goddess Chamunda.

Kali symbolically destroys ignorance and ego and clears the path to realizing ‘Brahman.’ She is also the human representation of the fury that Mother Nature can unleash. It is believed that Kali puja removes all the distress and ushers in joy and success. The day is also highly auspicious for tantrics and black magicians.

Kali’s fearsome image (garland of skulls, blood-red tongue, weaponry) doesn’t deter her devotees. In fact, Bengalis see her as the ultimate mother, fierce yet protective.

The name Kali comes from “Kala,” meaning time or death. She is the feminine form of time itself—not evil, but the destroyer of ego, illusion, and falsehood.