Kali

How to recognise Kali

1. Dark skinHer skin is dark blue or black, a colour that belongs to her alone, and one devotional reading takes it as the limitless space and time she embodies.
2. Three eyesWide, burning eyes in a dark face, the third for wisdom, with a look that is awe-inspiring yet maternal.
3. Red tongueA long red tongue stretches over her lower lip, and its meaning is told two ways: shame (lajja) at realising she has stepped on Shiva, or catching Raktabija's blood before it touches the ground.
4. Four armsThe upper left hand holds a curved sword (khadga) of knowledge that cuts ignorance, the lower left a severed head for the ego cut away, while the upper right shows abhaya mudra ('fear not') and the lower right varada mudra, the boon-giving hand.
5. Garland of headsA garland (mundamala) of 50 or 51 heads or skulls hangs from her neck and is read as the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, the Varnamala, making her Mother of sacred sound.
6. Skirt of armsA girdle of human arms or hands at her waist is read as karma, the actions that bind, which she severs for her devotees.
7. Shiva beneath herShe stands or dances on her consort Shiva, who lies calm and unharmed on his back, with her right foot forward on his chest in the Dakshina Kali form; a common Shakta reading sees Shiva as still awareness and Kali as the energy that moves.

Names and titles

• Ma, the Dark MotherShe is called Kali Mata, 'the dark mother', and worshipped as Divine Mother and Mother of the Universe
• Dakshina Kali, the Favourable MotherThe benevolent household form worshipped in Bengal; dakshina is read as 'favourable', 'of the right hand'
• The Hand That Says Fear NotHer raised right hand is the abhaya mudra, the gesture of fearlessness; the lower right offers boons
• Garland of LettersHer garland of 50 or 51 heads is read as the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, the Varnamala
• Ramprasad's MaThe 18th-century Bengali poet Ramprasad Sen sang to her as a tender, loving mother and even as a little girl

Feast days

• Kali Puja (Shyama Puja)8 November 2026

  Annual midnight worship of Kali, also called Shyama Puja, on the new-moon night of Kartik, the night many Hindus keep Diwali. Devotees honour her as the Mother who frees them from fear. Same festival as the 2027 entry.

  How it's celebrated. In Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Tripura, homes, temples and community pandals worship Kali, often as Dakshina Kali, with red hibiscus, lamps and sweets. The main rite comes at the midnight Nishita hour, with Dhak drums and conch. Kalighat and Dakshineswar in Kolkata and Tarapith in Birbhum draw large crowds. The day before, Bengali homes keep Bhoot Chaturdashi and light fourteen lamps.

  Sources: Wikipedia: Kali Puja · Bangla Calendar Today: Kali Puja 2026 · Swarnsiddhi: Kali Puja 2026