Chitraguptaचित्रगुप्त

Chitragupta (चित्रगुप्त) is the record-keeper of the dead: the divine scribe who sits beside Yama, god of death, and maintains the complete account of every act of every soul. His name — 'hidden picture', or the keeper of hidden records — describes his office. When the dead stand before Yama, it is Chitragupta who reads out the ledger, and on that balance of deeds the soul's next destination turns. He is the tradition's assurance that nothing is forgotten: the cosmos, in his person, keeps books.

Origins and iconography

Puranic tradition holds that when Yama pleaded that the reckoning of souls had grown beyond him, Brahma sat in meditation and Chitragupta sprang from his very body — his kaya — for which reason he is called Kayastha. The Kayastha communities of northern India, historically the subcontinent's caste of scribes, clerks and record-keepers, claim descent from him and take his office as the charter of their own. He is depicted as a dignified figure holding pen, inkpot and ledger — perhaps the only major Hindu deity whose attributes are stationery.

Worship

Chitragupta is honoured at Chitragupta Puja, observed on Yama Dwitiya, the second day after Diwali, above all by Kayastha families: pens are laid down, account books and writing instruments are worshipped, and new ledgers are begun — the accountant of the universe honoured with the tools of accountancy. A handful of temples are dedicated to him, but his true shrine is the idea he embodies: that every deed is written down.