Sharad Navaratri 2026: Ten Days, Ten Forms of Kali

This Sharad Navaratri 2026, from 11 to 20 October, Kanchana Pitham undertakes a ten-day sequence of special Pujas. Each day is devoted to a distinct manifestation of Kali and Adya Shakti.

Navaratri is the season when the worship of Devi unfolds in its many dimensions. Most celebrations move through the familiar forms. This sequence goes further.

Some of these forms are widely known. Some are rarely understood. And some belong to the deeper, esoteric dimensions of the Shakta tradition.

Ten Kalis. Ten Doorways. One Mother.

Navaratri 2026 Puja Schedule

Day 1, 11 October: Dakshina Kali Puja

The journey begins with Dakshina Kali, the Mother who bestows both bhukti and mukti: worldly fulfilment and spiritual attainment.

She does ask the seeker to choose between the world and liberation. Though, She grants both as she wishes. Every step of this ten-day sequence begins at Her feet.

Day 2, 12 October: Kali-kula Bhadrakali Puja

Bhadrakali is not a single form belonging to one tradition. She manifests in different streams of Shakta worship.

On this day, the worship is specifically of Bhadrakali as understood within the Kali-kula who resides in Patala Loka. She is worshipped for protection, strength, the overcoming of adversities and the fulfilment of diverse purposes.

Day 3, 13 October: Shmashana Kali Puja

The name may sound fearsome. That is exactly where most people fall into superstition, and exactly where they are mistaken.

Shmashana evokes cremation grounds, death and fear. Yet the auspiciousness bestowed by Shmashana Kali is in no way different to that of Bala Tripurasundari.

Day 4, 14 October: Guhya Kali Puja

Guhya means hidden. What is hidden here is not merely the outer form of worship.

It is the hidden dimension of the very Tattva of Kali, and the inner mysteries of Shakti. For those drawn towards the deeper dimensions of Devi Upasana, Guhya Kali opens an entirely different doorway.

Day 5, 15 October: Kamakala Kali Puja

The word Kama is almost always understood too narrowly, as mere desire.

Kamakala asks us to look beyond that ordinary understanding and contemplate a far deeper dimension of Shakti. Some aspects of Devi cannot be grasped from Her name and form alone. Kamakala Kali is one of them.

Day 6, 16 October: Chamunda Kali Puja

Chamunda is too often placed among the familiar group of Matrikas and left there.

This Chamunda Kali is Adya. She is not a Matrika.

Her worship on this day brings us face to face with another manifestation of the primordial Shakti. It is associated with strength, protection, overcoming severe adversities and the destruction of powerful opposing forces.

Day 7, 17 October: Vetala Kali Puja

The seventh day goes deeper still. Vetala Kali is among the most esoteric forms in this sequence.

Her worship carries a character far removed from the popular understanding of Kali. For those drawn to the deeper tantric dimensions of Shakti, She is a profound and rarely encountered form of the Mother.

Day 8, 18 October: Jvara Jvarita Shmashanogra Guhyakali Puja

The eighth day brings one of the most extraordinary manifestations of the entire sequence.

She is the Mother blazing with flames. Yet this blazing form is not merely an image of fierceness: She bestows material as well as spiritual progress.

Day 9, 19 October: Shava Kali Puja

Shava Kali is one of the deeply esoteric forms of Adya Shakti, and one of the most misunderstood.

She should not be reduced to the sensational descriptions found on the internet. Nor does Her worship mean that one must undertake shava sadhana merely because of Her name.

She is an extraordinarily auspicious manifestation of Adya Shakti. Her presence reminds us that the outer appearance of a form never reveals the whole of its Tattva.

Day 10, 20 October: Kali-kula Mahishamardini Puja

The sequence culminates with Kali-kula Mahishamardini.

The Mother appears as the force that destroys Mahisha, the opposing and obstructing force, and brings forth the victory of Shakti. The final day carries the character of victory, strength and the triumph of the Divine Mother.

In this Sharad Navaratri –

From Dakshina Kali to Kali-kula Mahishamardini, these ten forms are familiar to some, unfamiliar to many and profoundly esoteric to most.

This is not a matter of seeing ten different names of Devi. Each form carries its own nature, its own presence and its own place within the vastness of Kali Upasana.

The sequence asks one thing of the devotee: to look beyond the names, beyond the appearances and beyond the assumptions, and to approach each form through its own Tattva.

Be Part of the Sharad Navaratri 2026 Pujas

Ten forms of the Mother will be worshipped across these ten days, each through Her own Tattva. Some of these Pujas are performed rarely in our daily lives.

Ten Kalis. Ten Doorways. One Mother.

Be a part of this annual event with esoteric pujas with the sankalpa.