Chitragupta is the assistant of Lord Yama, the God of Death. It is believed that when a person dies his soul first goes to Lord Yama, where Chitragupta reads out the good and bad deeds of the person. There is only one temple in South India for Chitragupta at Kancheepuram. Chitra Pournami is a very auspicious day here which is considered to be the birthday of Chitragupta. Another important legend associated with Chitra Poornima, involves Lord Indra, the king of Gods, and his Guru Brihaspati. Once Indra and Brihaspati had an altercation, and the Guru stopped advising his pupil. Without the sound counsel of his Guru, Indra committed numerous sins. Finally, when Brihaspati relented and took up his duty. He then advised Indra to undertake a pilgrimage to the earth to alleviate the burden of sins committed by him in his absence. One day during his pilgrimage, Indra had a sudden realization that he has been redeemed from his sins. He looked around and noticed a Shivling under a Kadamba tree. He was sure that it was Lord Shiva who had helped him in alleviating his sins. He decided to worship the Lingam and to his surprise he found golden lotus in a nearby pond. He prayed to Shiva by offering the golden lotus. This happened on a Chitra Pournami day and the place was Madurai in Tamil Nadu. In remembrance of this event, in the Madurai Meenakshi temple, a Devendra Puja is observed on Chitra Poornima.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 02:21:55 +0000
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