Chitragupta
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Chitragupta (Sanskrit: चित्रगुप्त, rich in secrets) is a Hindu god assigned with the task of keeping complete records of actions of human beings on the earth, and upon their death, deciding as regards sending them to the heaven or the hell, depending on their actions on the earth. Chitragupta Maharaj (Chitragupta the King) is the patron deity of Kayasthas, a Hindu jāti of India.
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[edit] The legend
The Hindu mythological tradition states that Yama, the Hindu god of death, used to get confused when deciding the fate of dead people and sending them to hell or heaven, in the absence of any records of their actions on earth. Yama narrated his predicament to Brahma and prayed for assistance.
At the instance of Brahma, Lord Shiva commanded Chitragupta maharaj to assume responsibility for this task. Lord Chitragupta is considered a perfect professional and is believed to keep meticulous, complete and accurate records of the actions of all human beings from their birth till death. We also know this in theosophical parlance as the "Akashic Records".
[edit] Birth
There are various versions of birth of Chitragupta.
According to one version, Lord Chitragupta came into being after Lord Brahma, the Creator, having established the four varnas — Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra — ordained Dharamraj ( also called Yamraj, the god of death) to keep record of the deeds — good and evil — of all life-forms born and yet to be born on earth, in the heavens above and in the lands below. Dharamraj, however, complained, "O Lord, how can I alone keep record of the deeds of the beings born into 84 lakh yonis (life-forms) in the three worlds?"
Brahma then closed his eyes, meditated for a while and lo and behold! there appeared a radiant figure with a quill-pen in one hand and an ink-pot in another. Brahma named him Chittagupta for he was conceived in his cognitive-self (chitta) and he was lying in Him, dormant and secret (gupta). He was born of Brahma’s body (kaya) and so the Lord decreed that his progenies be called Kayasthas. He was assigned to work as a minister, to write and record for Dharamraj. Thus, the fifth varna, the Kayastha, came into existence.
According to the second legend, Lord Chitragupta is believed to have come into existence when Lord Shiva breathed life into a portrait, which his consort Parvati had drawn.
[edit] Temples
There are several temples in India, particularly South India, enshrining the Lord Chitragupta. The most famous of them is located at Kanchipuram [1], Tamilnadu state, India.
http://www.hindubooks.org/temples/tamilnadu/kancheepuram/page19.htm
[edit] Reference
- Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dhallapiccola
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| Female Deities: Gayatri | Saraswati | Lakshmi | Dakshayani | Parvati | Durga | Shakti | Kali | Sita | Devi | Radha | Mahavidya | more... | |
| Male Deities: Brahma | Vishnu | Shiva | Rama | Krishna | Ganesha | Kartikeya | Hanuman | Lakshmana | Indra | Surya | more... | |
| Texts: Vedas | Upanishads | Puranas | Ramayana | Mahabharata | |
