Kali Puja

Kali Puja, also known as Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja, is a festival originating from the Indian subcontinent, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. It is celebrated on the new moon day (Dipannita Amavasya) of the Hindu calendar month of Ashwayuja (according to the amanta tradition) or Kartika (according to the purnimanta tradition). The festival is especially popular in the regions of West Bengal, Mithila and Anga of Bihar Odisha, Assam,KL and Tripura, as well as the town of Titwala in Maharashtra, along with the neighbouring country of Bangladesh. The festival of Kali Puja is not an ancient one. Kali Puja was practically unknown before the 16th century; famous sage Krishnananda Agamavagisha first initiated Kali Puja. A late 17th-century devotional text, Kalika mangalkavya, also mentions an annual festival dedicated to Kali. In Bengal during the 18th century, King (Raja) Krishnachandra of Krishnanagar, Nadia, West Bengal also made this puja wide spread. Kali Puja gained popularity in the 19th century, when kali saint Shri Ramkrishna became popular among the Bengalis ; wealthy landowners began patronizing the festival on a grand scale. Along with Durga Puja, Kali Puja is the biggest festival in Tamluk, Barasat, Naihati, Barrackpore, Dhupguri, Dinhata. It is also famous in Bhagalpur of Bihar. During Kali Puja (like Durga Puja) worshippers honour the goddess Kali in their homes in the form of clay sculptures and in pandals (temporary shrines or open pavilions). She is worshipped at night with tantric rites and mantras. She is prescribed offerings of red hibiscus flowers, sweets, rice and lentils. It is prescribed that a worshipper should meditate throughout the night until dawn. Homes and pandals may also practice rites in the Brahmanical (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. However, in Tantric tradition, animals are ritually sacrificed on Kali Puja day and offered to the goddess.