Kalaratri means the server of the night who is black in color. Kala means Black and Ratri means night. Goddess Kalaratri is thus called a savior of the night. There are multiple stories of Devi Kalaratri and her birth. It is said that once Parvati was bathing and the Gods came to pray to her for her help in tackling the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha. Since Parvati couldn’t answer immediately, she created Ambika (Chandi) for the work. When Shumbha and Nishumbha heard of Ambika, they sent Chanda and Munda, their representatives to fight Ambika. Ambika decided to take over Chanda and created Kali to take over Munda. Both Chanda and Munda got killed and Ambika came to be known as Chandi (the one who killed Chand) and Kaali came to be known as Chamunda (The one who killed Munda). When the news of the death of Chanda and Munda traveled to Shumbha and Nishumbha, they decided to send Raktabeej, a more fierce demon to fight Kaali. Raktabeej had a boon that if his blood drop fell on earth, each drop will create a new and more powerful demon. Kaali tried defeating Raktabeej in a normal fight, but with each death, there were more than a thousand new Raktabeej that got birth. Goddess Kaali finally lost her control and in anger, she killed the main Raktabeej and drank all his bad blood to avoid any more creation. With this, the other demons also died. But the rage that Kaali had acquired in the procedure made her violent. Also, the dirty blood of Raktabeej made her really dark in complexion and burn from insides. She started killing everyone in her vicinity and was blinded by her anger. The Gods went to Lord Shiva and sought help. God Shiva lied down on the way where Kaali was about to cross. The moment Lord Shiva came under her feet, she realized, she was standing at the chest of her own husband. The gush of guilt and sorrow in Kaali’s heart realized that she was Parvati and was meant to save the world she was destroying. To make up for the anger and guilt together, Kaali didn’t understand what to do and she bit her tongue to remove all anger there and finish the episode, thereby, calming down. Since all this happened at night, which is called the resting time of animals, she was called the Kaalratri. Later, Kalaratri chased down Shumbha and Nishumbha and killed them. Devi Kalratri is worshipped on the seventh day of Navratri to celebrate the power of winning over the evil.

There are some other references that suggest Kalratri was made to prevent people and animals at night from evil spirits because the night is a resting phase and only demons are awake at night. So Kalaratri transforms into a fierce attacker and guards animals and humans from being attacked by the demons and evil spirits. With the ray of dawn, Kalratri also disappears only to return at dusk.

Benefits of Kalratri Pooja:

1. To stay away from evil spirits
2. To stay clear from darkness and soak in the most positivity while the sun shines
3. To be able to make fearless moves
4. To stay positive in the most difficult times
5. To attain powers to sustain with the appearance you have without any insecurities
6. To gain immense powers and bravery to keep away your evils and enemies