Chitra Pournami is a Hindu festival celebrated on a full moon day “Pournami” in the Tamil month “Chithirai”. The auspicious day is dedicated to Chitra Gupta, a Hindu goddess who is believed to keep records of human acts ” good or bad deeds of Yama ” the god of death “.
2024 Chitra Pournami falls on 23rd April, Tuesday.
History of Chitra Pournami
According to Hindu Mythology, Lord Brahma gave the task to Chitra Gupta to keep track on the human actions and deeds. It is believed that on Chitra Pournami, Chitra Gupta completes his task and presents them to Lord Yama, the god of death. By worshipping Chitra Gupta, devotees seek for forgiveness and relieve from their bad deeds and get blessing from the lord.
On this day, devotees light deepam for Chandra as it is believed to sees blessings and relieves bad state of mind. It is celebrated with musics, community gathering , kavadi atham and auspicious prayers in the temple. On Chitra Pournami one of the celebrations is the Kavadi Attam, a ritualistic dance performed by devotees as an offering to the deity Murugan. Devotees carry decorative structures called kavadi’s on their shoulders, often adorned with peacock feathers and flowers with the sound of Urumi.
Chitra Pournami is associated with various religious and cultural significances. It is considered auspicious for taking holy baths in rivers and sacred water bodies, as it is believed that doing so on this day cleanses one’s sins and brings blessings. Devotees also engage in rituals such as offering prayers to Lord Chitragupta.
What does the devotees do on Chitra Pournami?
- Devotees clean their homes and decorate the prayer room, either early in the morning or at night when the moon blooms
- They would also visit temples to perform special rituals. Offering them flowers, fruits and sweets
- Devotees would also prepare auspicious meals, such as ponggal and vegetarian dishes.
- Place the paper, pencil, Navadhanyam (nine different grains), Chitrannam (variety rice), and dhal ready in the pooja room.
- Some devotees fast on this day, ” Chitragupta Nombu “
On this day temples are usually busy the whole day. Prayers would be arranged and performed. Some of them carries Kavadi or milk for Lord Murugan. Temples all around the world are all visited by devotees and different kinds of special events are performed.
This temples has a grand celebration for Chitra Pournami :
- Sri Thendayuthapani Temple, Jalan Bandar Teluk Intan. The festival starts at 4.30am and chariot procession starts at 8pm that will start from the temple to around the town.
- Sri Balasubramaniam Temple, Port Klang.
There are plenty of Hindu temples around the world that has a huge celebration on this auspicious day. Tamilnadu in India has a grand celebration in the temples.
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