Chitra Pournami is a popular Tamil festival that is observed in the Chitra or Chithirai month that falls between April and May. This year, it falls on the 16th of April. Since the festival falls on the full moon day or the Poornima, it is called Chitra Pournami. It is a day when the Chitra star aligns with a full moon. It is commemorated to celebrate the birthday of Chitragupta and also to worship Lord Indira.
Who is Lord Chitragupta?
Followers of Hinduism would know Yama Raja, the king of death and his kingdom, Yamaloka. Lord Chitragupta is the chief justice of Yamaloka and is known as Dharmaraja Dharmadhikari. He is a God who has the task of keeping track of people's actions on the earth. Upon the death of a human being, Chitragupta, based on the records, decides whether the person attains hell or heaven. The record is also used to decide the life form a person gets, punishments or rewards that is deserved based on the actions and virtues.
Chitragupta is also the deity of Kayasthas, which is a caste in India and Nepal.
It is believed that Chitragupta was born to Goddess Parvati and was born through Chitra Puthiran, a painting. He was conceived by Kamdhenu Gomatha and born on Chitra Pournami day and thus was called Chitra Guptan. There is a temple in South India in Kanchipuram which is dedicated to Chitragupta. The Thirukoteeswarar shrine has places where Chitragupta and Lord Yama are worshipped. The shrine conducts the Chitra Pournami festival with great fervour and fanfare.
What is the significance of Chitra Pournami?
The significance of Chitra Pournami is to remind people to perform actions that are mindful and be careful about it. It is a day to tell people that your actions will have consequences no matter how big or small a person you are. If you do good, you will be rewarded, and on the contrary, bad actions will attract bad karma. No one should be under the delusion that you can get away with doing things, and there will be no consequences. Irrespective of the religion and caste you belong to, the concept of Karma action is the same.
Chitra Pournami is a day when you are reminded to do good things and avoid doing evil things as it affects both the current life and after death. Performing Chitra Pournami pooja will help to cleanse the sins committed and mitigate the bad things performed.
The legend of Chitra Pournami
As per Padma Purana, Chitragupta is the assistant of Lord Yama and is the record keeper of good deeds and sins. So when a person dies, Chitragupta gives data on the good and bad karma of that person to Yama. Lord Yama then sends the final decision to the soul. On the day of Chitra Pournami, the Sun and the Moon’s energy is powerful and is said to have a profound effect on human beings. The idea that Chitragupta being on guard, especially on this day, is to prevent people from committing sins. This urges people to do good work and not commit sins. The legend of Chitra Poutnami is that not just people, even Gods, also will not find any favours if they commit wrong acts.
As per legend Indra, the Lord of Lords did not respect his Guru Brihaspati. Once Indra also argued because of which his Guru stopped advising. Due to this, Indra started committing many mistakes and sins. Some days later, the Guru returned to his duties and found Indra stressed out. The guru then found out that due to his absence, Indra committed many sins. Brihaspati then asked Indra to take a pilgrimage to reduce the effect of his actions.
This time, Indira followed the advice of his Guru and took that pilgrimage to earth, and soon he got rid of his sins. On his visit to the earth, under a Kadamba tree, he found a Shiva Linga and, in a nearby pond, found a Golden lotus which he offered to Shiva. This whole incident of the travel and the offerings to Shiva happened on Chitra Pournami day.
The full moon is known to promote God feelings as well as creativity. It is also believed that because of the higher waves, the sentiments are conducted due to which there is higher consciousness and positive energy.
So Chitra Purnima is a day that is celebrated to remind that the deeds that you do, good and bad, have consequences not just in this life but afterlife too. Hence it is important to avoid doing evil acts and do good deeds. Meanwhile, on this day, it is time to cleanse your actions via genuine prayers and corrective actions. These may help you reduce the impact of the bad deeds and sins committed.
