Kali Chaudas
Also called Kali Chaturdashi, Bhoot Chaturdashi, Roop Chaudas
When
Saturday, 7 November 2026 in 58 days
New Delhi ยท change location
See the complete panchang for that day โ
Why this date?
Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi, taken by the NIGHT. Kali is approached at nishita โ the midnight watch โ so the day is the one whose night falls inside Chaturdashi. Narak Chaturdashi is the same tithi taken by the PRE-DAWN instead, for the abhyanga snan, and in years where Chaturdashi spans two dawns the two observances separate onto different civil days. They are not the same observance and this site lists them apart.
- Computed by the panchanga engine for your location
- Follows a written selection rule, not a copied list
- Governed by the whole day rather than a specific period
- The written guide has not yet been reviewed by a named scholar
Dates come from the calculation engine and are independent of the written guide. How we calculate โ
What In short
The night of Kali in the dark fortnight before Diwali. Where it is kept as Bhoot Chaturdashi the night is understood as one when the ancestors and other presences are near, and lamps are lit for them.
- Deity: Kali; Hanuman
Why The reason behind it
The Diwali sequence is not uniformly bright. This is its dark night, kept for the fierce form of the Devi, and the lamps lit for the departed on the same night belong to the same understanding โ that the turning of the year is when the boundary is thin.
Traditional basis
Shakta upasana tradition โ Kali's worship at nishita on the Kartik Chaturdashi; the Bengal Kali Puja of Diwali night is the larger form of the same devotion.
Regional Bhoot Chaturdashi practice โ The fourteen lamps and fourteen greens of the Bengal observance, kept for the ancestors.
How At home, step by step
- Where Kali is worshipped, the puja belongs to the night rather than the day.
- In Bengal households, fourteen lamps are lit and fourteen leafy greens eaten.
- Hanuman is worshipped on this night in Gujarat and parts of the west, for protection.
What you'll need
- Earthen lamps
- Red hibiscus where Kali is worshipped
- Mustard oil
- The fourteen greens, where that custom is kept
Fasting and breaking the fast
Not generally a fasting day; the observance is in the night's puja and the lamps.
Fasting guidance here describes traditional practice. It is not medical advice โ if you are pregnant, diabetic, on medication or unwell, ask a doctor about your own circumstances.
Personal In your region
- Gujarat (Gujarati)
Kept as Kali Chaudas with Hanuman worship for protection; also called Roop Chaudas for the pre-dawn oil bath that follows. - Bengal (Bengali)
Bhoot Chaturdashi, with fourteen lamps and fourteen greens, the night before the great Kali Puja. - Maharashtra (Marathi)
Largely folded into the Narak Chaturdashi abhyanga snan.
For children
The dark night of the Diwali week. In some homes fourteen little lamps are lit โ one for each of the people who came before.
Common questions
- Is Kali Chaudas the same day as Narak Chaturdashi?
- Often, but not always. Both are the same tithi, and they are selected by different parts of the day โ Kali Chaudas by the night, Narak Chaturdashi by the pre-dawn. When Chaturdashi spans two dawns they land on different civil days, and this site shows them where their own rules put them rather than collapsing them.
This guide has not yet been reviewed by a named scholar or practising priest. The dates and times on this page come from the calculation engine and are independent of it; the explanatory text is editorial and may not reflect your family's practice. Tell us if something is wrong.