The direct answer: Kali Puja 2026 Date & Nishita Muhurat: Kali Puja 2026 is on Sunday 8 November. Amavasya runs 11:27 AM 8 Nov to 12:31 PM 9 Nov IST; Nishita puja 10:55-11:46 PM in Kolkata, 11:39 PM-12:31 AM in Delhi. AskSoma publishes this at asksoma.ai/blog/kali-puja-2026-muhurat as a free Vedic astrology resource using Swiss Ephemeris calculations and classical Jyotish interpretation — not generic sun-sign copy.
Kali Puja 2026 is on Sunday 8 November. Amavasya runs 11:27 AM 8 Nov to 12:31 PM 9 Nov IST; Nishita puja 10:55-11:46 PM in Kolkata, 11:39 PM-12:31 AM in Delhi.
The date, the Amavasya tithi, the midnight Nishita window for Kolkata and Delhi, why Kali Puja is decided at midnight, and the days around it.
Kali Puja 2026 is on Sunday, 8 November 2026, the same night as Diwali. In most of India Lakshmi Puja is also on this night, though Lakshmi Puja dates vary by region and household. Kartika Amavasya begins at 11:27 AM IST on 8 November and ends at 12:31 PM IST on 9 November. The main puja is at Nishita, the midpoint of the local night. Published examples are 10:55 to 11:46 PM in Kolkata and 11:39 PM to 12:31 AM (into 9 November) in New Delhi; times differ by city, as explained in the timings section below.
The Amavasya span and New Delhi Nishita window are from Drik Panchang's Kali Puja 2026 page. The Kolkata Nishita window and the Bisuddha Siddhanta panjika timing (Amavasya 11:29 AM to 12:32 PM) are from Kolkata panjika listings reported by Mood Kolkata and Times Now Bangla. Different panjikas can differ by a few minutes, and sometimes by more, so follow the one your family or temple uses.
| Item | Time (IST) |
|---|---|
| Kali Puja date | Sunday, 8 November 2026 |
| Amavasya tithi begins | 11:27 AM, 8 November |
| Amavasya tithi ends | 12:31 PM, 9 November |
| Nishita puja, Kolkata | 10:55 PM to 11:46 PM, 8 November |
| Nishita puja, New Delhi | 11:39 PM, 8 November to 12:31 AM, 9 November |
| Bengali date | 22 Kartik 1433 |
Nishita is the eighth muhurta of the night, the midpoint between local sunset and the next sunrise. It is often near clock midnight, but its clock time varies with your location and the length of the night, which is why the published Kolkata and Delhi windows differ by about 45 minutes. The city times above are examples from the sources named, not windows to apply elsewhere. For any other city, in India or abroad, open the [panchang](/panchang) with your location, or ask your temple or family priest. Outside India the Amavasya start falls at a different local clock time, and can fall on a different calendar date, so a local panchang is the reliable guide to which night is observed.
Many Hindu festivals take the tithi running at sunrise. Kali Puja follows the Nishita-vyapini rule: Amavasya must be running at Nishita, the middle of the local night. Devotees traditionally explain this through Kali's association with the dark night. By the Drik Panchang and Kolkata panjika timings cited here, Amavasya covers the night of 8 November in India in 2026, but regional panjikas and local calculations can differ, so check the one your family or temple follows.
In much of India, Lakshmi Puja uses the Pradosh (evening) window of the same Amavasya, which is why the two often land on one date. Customs vary: in Bengal and some neighbouring regions, many households hold their main Lakshmi Puja on Kojagari Purnima instead. See the full festival timetable on our [Diwali 2026 calendar](/panchang/calendar/diwali-2026).
Examples for Kolkata and New Delhi are in the table above. Eastern cities generally see Nishita earlier on the clock than western ones, but the exact window for any other city should come from its own panchang.
For people outside India the principle is the same: the night on which Amavasya is running at your local Nishita is generally taken as the Kali Puja night. Temples abroad announce their own dates and times, and those can differ from India's.
In the Devi Mahatmya, Kali appears in the Chanda-Munda and Raktabija episodes. She emerges from the goddess, is later called Chamunda after slaying the generals Chanda and Munda, and helps destroy Raktabija by drinking his blood so that no new demons can rise from it. In later devotional art, especially in Bengal, she is often shown dark blue or black, with a garland of heads and a skirt of arms, standing on Shiva.
For many devotees, the fearsome image carries a gentle meaning. In common devotional readings, the severed heads are the ego, the darkness is the void from which all forms arise, and Shiva beneath her is pure consciousness that her power animates. Bengal's poet-saints such as Ramprasad Sen sang to her as a mother, and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa worshipped her at Dakshineswar. That devotional history is part of why Kali Puja is such a major night in Bengal.
| Date | Observance |
|---|---|
| Fri 6 Nov | Dhanteras (Trayodashi) |
| Sat 7 Nov | Bhoot Chaturdashi: in many Bengali homes, fourteen greens at lunch and fourteen lamps at dusk |
| Sun 8 Nov | Kali Puja (Shyama Puja), Diwali; Lakshmi Puja in many regions (dates vary by region) |
| Mon 9 Nov | Amavasya ends 12:31 PM; Pratipada follows |
| Tue 10 Nov | Annakut (Govardhan Puja) |
| Wed 11 Nov | Bhai Phota (Bhai Dooj) |
Both festivals fall on Kartika Amavasya, but they honour different forms of the goddess. In most of India the night is Lakshmi's, worshipped in the evening for prosperity. In many homes in Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Mithila the night is given to Kali, worshipped at midnight for protection and freedom from fear, while many households there worship Lakshmi separately on Kojagari Purnima a fortnight earlier. Practice varies by region and family. Many Bengali homes light lamps for both.
Kartika Amavasya falls when the Sun and Moon are together in Libra, where the Sun is debilitated. Some astrologers treat this symbolically as a low point for the Sun, and see it as fitting that the night is given to Kali, the power devotees believe removes darkness and fear. Within some astrological traditions, Kali worship is also suggested as a remedy for a hard Saturn or Rahu period, or for a weak Moon. These are interpretations and beliefs, not established effects.
If you want to know whether the coming months bring a Saturn or Rahu period for you, check your [dasha calculator](/dasha-calculator) result or ask Soma in a [free astrology chat](/chat).
In many muhurat traditions, Amavasya is a day people prefer to avoid for beginnings such as weddings, griha pravesh or vehicle purchases, though practice varies by tradition and by the event. Consult your own panchang or priest. If you are planning a house-warming or purchase after Diwali, use the [muhurat finder](/muhurat-finder) to shortlist dates in the bright half of Kartika that follows.
Drik Panchang, Kali Puja 2026 date and time for New Delhi (drikpanchang.com/diwali/kali-puja/bengal-kalipuja-date-time.html?year=2026). Kolkata Nishita and Bisuddha Siddhanta timing as reported by Mood Kolkata (moodkolkata.com/blog/kali-puja) and Times Now Bangla. Last reviewed by AskSoma Editorial on 3 November 2026.
Sunday, 8 November 2026, the same night as Diwali. Lakshmi Puja is also on this night in much of India, but dates vary by region; many Bengali households hold it on Kojagari Purnima.
Nishita varies by city. Published examples are 10:55 PM to 11:46 PM IST in Kolkata (Kolkata panjika listings) and 11:39 PM on 8 November to 12:31 AM on 9 November in New Delhi (Drik Panchang).
Per Drik Panchang, Amavasya begins at 11:27 AM IST on 8 November and ends at 12:31 PM IST on 9 November 2026. Some panjikas list slightly different times.
In India, yes, by the panchangs cited here: both fall on Sunday 8 November because Amavasya covers both the evening Pradosh and the Nishita window. Outside India, check your local panchang or temple.
Saturday, 7 November 2026, the night before Kali Puja.
Shyama Puja is another name for Kali Puja, used especially in Bengal, Odisha and Assam, after Shyama, the dark form of Kali.
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The astrology is not written from memory: every chart position, dasha period and panchang timing AskSoma shows is computed with the Swiss Ephemeris on the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa. How we calculate.