Kali Chaudas 2183

The traditional katha

This is the tradition kept by Gujarati families on Kali Chaudas; no Purana source was found that tells a story of its own for this night.

The name means "the dark fourteenth". Kali means dark, and chaudas is the fourteenth day of the fortnight. It falls on the night before the new moon of Diwali, on the same day that is kept elsewhere as Naraka Chaturdashi, the day Lord Krishna overcame the demon Naraka. That story is told on its own page.

In Gujarat this night belongs to Mahakali, the fierce form of the Divine Mother who destroys evil. Families say that on the darkest nights of the month fear and harmful forces are at their strongest. So on Kali Chaudas they pray to Mahakali to drive away fear and every evil influence from the home, so that the house is clean and protected when Lakshmi is welcomed on Diwali the next night.

Many Gujarati households also pray to Hanuman on this night, as the protector who keeps away fear and evil spirits. Some traditions hold that Hanuman's birthday falls on this Chaturdashi of the dark half of Kartika (Purnimanta; Ashvina in Amanta). Some families also honour Bhairava or their own family goddess, the kuldevi, as their custom is.

Who is Kali? The Devi Mahatmya, part of the Markandeya Purana, tells of her coming, though it does not name this night. When the demon king Shumbha sent his generals Chanda and Munda with an army against the Goddess, she frowned in anger. From her frowning brow sprang Kali, terrible to see, carrying a sword and a noose. She tore through the demon army, and the heads of Chanda and Munda were brought before the Goddess. Because of this, the Goddess gave Kali the name Chamunda, the slayer of Chanda and Munda.

So on Kali Chaudas families remember the Mother who rose to destroy evil, and the faithful Hanuman who guards his devotees, on the night before the lamps of Diwali.