Chitra Purnima

The Chitra Purnima is a Hindu festival dedicated to Chitragupta, who is the divine accountant and also the assistant to the God of Death, Lord Yama. As per the Hindu mythology, He is responsible for keeping the track of good and bad deeds in the life of all individuals. Chitra Purnima is also famous as ‘Chitirai Purnima’. It is primarily a Tamil festival that is observed on the Purnima (full moon day) during the month of ‘Chitirai’. In the English calendar, it falls during the month of April-May. The day is known to be auspicious as full moon and Chitra star come together on this day.

In the Hindu scriptures, Chitragupta assists Lord Yama in judging the good and bad deeds of every individual. It is believed that after a person dies, he/she reaches to the abode of Lord Yama and then Chitragupta after assessing the deeds of deceased person, declares him/her to be a good or a bad soul. The day of Chitra Purnima is therefore celebrated in honour of Chitragupta and devotees worship Him on this auspicious day and ask forgiveness for their sins. According to another Hindu legend, the day of Chitra Purnima is also dedicated to Indra, the Lord of Gods.

Chitra Purnima 2024 was on April 23 Tuesday

Image Source: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS

A view of full moon

Rituals during Chitra Purnima:

• On the day of Chitra Purnima, special puja is offered in temples in different parts of southern India. Among these, the Chitragupta temple in Kanchipuram, Chandra Moulishwar temple in Thiruvakkarai and Airavateshwarar temple in Darasuram are some of the places where the ceremonies are very notable.
• Devotees worship Chitragupta on this day with full dedication and devotion. It is believed that if the prayers are offered with sincerity then all his/her past sins will be dissolved. Not only this, the Almighty will also offer him/her the courage to lead a truthful life. Devotees take a holy bath in the water bodies as a practice to wash away their committed sins.
• Devotees visit the Chitragupta temples and worship their deity with flowers, camphor and incense sticks. Special food like chakkarai pongal is prepared on this day as offering. Usually on this day all the delicacies are prepared without using salt. On the day of Chitra Purnima, the devotees abstain from taking milk and milk-based products (buffalo milk is preferred for using instead).
• On this day it is considered beneficial to read and meditate on the story of Lord Indra and his Guru, Lord Brihaspati.
• Also on this day as the devotees ask forgiveness for their sins committed in the past, one must feed the needy or poor on the day of Chitra Purnima. Clothes, rice and vegetable are donated generously on this day.

Important Timings On Chitra Purnima 2024

Significance of Chitra Purnima:

The day of Chitra Purnima is believed to be revered in many ways. This Purnima in the ‘Chitirai’ month is the first full moon day of the Vedic year. This day is considered very powerful in eliminating the karma that denies health, wealth and relationships. People worship Chitragupta on the day to get rid of ‘bad’ karma and consolidate the ‘good’ karma. They also seek His divine blessing to maintain the good karma in their lives. On this day it is propagated to perform good deeds like charity or donation in order to balance out the sins committed during one’s lifetime.

Chitra Purnima festival dates between 2020 & 2030

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