Description

Chitragupta (Sanskrit: चित्रगुप्त, 'richinsecrets' or 'hidden picture') is a Hindu god assigned with thetaskof keeping complete records of actions of human beings ontheearth. Upon their death, Chitragupta has the task ofdecidingheaven or the hell for the humans, depending on theiractions onthe earth. Chitragupta Maharaj (Chitragupta the King) isthe patrondeity of Kayasthas, a Hindu caste of India and Nepal. Heis the sonof Lord Brahma and holds a fairly special place in theHindupantheon because of the order of his birth.

Lord Brahma had many various sons and daughters in variousmythstructures, including many seers born of his mind, suchasVashishta, Narada, and Atri, and many sons born of his body,suchas Dharma, Delusion, Lust, Death, and Bharata. The story ofthebirth of Chitragupta is related in different ways, but he isnearlyalways delineated differently from the other children ofLordBrahma, and a common thread is that he is born directly ofLordBrahma’s body.

In one popular version of the creation myth of Chitragupta, itissaid that Lord Brahma gave the land of the dead over to thegodYama, also known as Dharamraj or Yamraj. Yama would becomeconfusedsometimes when dead souls would come to him, and wouldoccasionallysend the wrong souls to either heaven or hell. LordBrahmacommanded him to keep better track of everyone, and Yamadeclaredthat he could not reasonably be expected to keep track ofthe manypeople born of the eighty-four different life forms in thethreeworlds.

Lord Brahma, determined to solve this problem for Yama, satinmeditation for many thousands of years. Finally he opened hiseyes,and a man stood before him with a pen and paper. AsChitragupta wasborn of Lord Brahma’s body, or kaya in Sanskrit,Brahma declaredthat his children would forever be known asKayasthas. As he wasfirst conceived in Brahma’s mind, or chitra,and then made whole insecrecy, or gupta, away from the other gods,he was namedChitragupta.

Chitragupta is sometimes also referred to as the first man touseletters, and is hailed that way in the Garud Puran. He is knownasbeing incredibly meticulous, and with his pen and paper hetracksevery action of every sentient life form, building up arecord ofthem over the course of their life so that when they diethe fate oftheir soul can be easily determined. These perfect andcompletedocuments are referred to in mystical traditions as theAkashicrecords, and as they contain the actions of each personfrom birthto death, they can be said to contain every action takenin theuniverse.

Items associated with Chitragupta in his puja include thepaperand pen, ink, honey, betel nut, matches, mustard,sugar,sandalwood, and frankincense. A puja is often performedtoChitragupta in reverence of the four virtues he is seen toembody:justice, peace, literacy, and knowledge. Part of theChitraguptapuja also includes writing down how much money you makein yourhousehold, and how much you need to make to survive inthefollowing year, while making offerings of turmeric, flowers,andvermilion