Chaitra Pournami is an multi-sect multi-community Hindu festival observed on

Purnima Pūrṇimā () is the word for full moon in Sanskrit. The day of Purnima is the day (''Tithi'') in each month when the full moon occurs, and marks the division in each month between the two lunar fortnights ( paksha), and the Moon is aligned exact ...

day of

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...

month. It is celebrated across various parts of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

observed on full moon day in the month of Chithirai, corresponding in the Gregorian calendar to a day in April or May. In some parts of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, The festival is dedicated to

Chitragupta Chitragupta (Sanskrit: चित्रगुप्त, 'rich in secrets' or 'hidden picture') is a Hindu deity assigned with the task of keeping complete records of the actions of human beings and punishing or rewarding them according to their ...

, a Hindu god who is believed to record humans' good and bad deeds for

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities ...

, the Hindu god of death and the underworld. On this day, devotees ask Chitragupta to forgive their sins. On the festival day, many devotees bathe in rivers or other water bodies to symbolise their sins being washed away. This is especially popular at the river Chitra in the district of

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. In

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

's capital,

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

, there is an old temple of Chitra Pournami Valiya Thottam Bhagavathi at Pachalloor en-route

Kovalam Kovalam is a region in the city of Trivandrum, around 13 km southwest of the city center, whose beaches are a tourist destination. Etymology Kovalam means "coconut grove," after the coconut trees which are common there. History Kovala ...

. Here, this festival has been celebrated for the last 200 years. The temple belongs to Melanganathil Veedu-Valiya Thottam Tharavadu of the region, which possessed almost all its people. This is a Hindu temple dedicated to

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

Bhagavathi Bhagavatī (Devanagari: भगवती, IAST: Bhagavatī), is a Hindu epithet of Sanskrit origin, used as an honorific title for female deities in Hinduism. It is primarily used to address one of the Tridevi: Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati. ...

. This is called Chithira Pournami in

and

especially across followers of

Kaumaram __NOTOC__ Murugan is a Hindu denomination that primarily venerates the Hindu deity of war, ''Kumaran'', also known as Murugan (in South India), ''Kandan'', or ''Kadamban'', or '' Kartikeya, aarumugan,'' . Most devotees of Kumaran also revere m ...

and

Shaiva Siddhanta Shaiva Siddhanta () (Tamil: சைவ சித்தாந்தம் "Caiva cittāntam") is a form of Shaivism that propounds a dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and ideal goal of a being is to become an enlightened soul through Shiv ...

. Devotees observe fasting, worship

Lord Murugan Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hinduism, Hindu List of war deities, god of war. He is the son of Parvati an ...

and break fast the next morning. The idea of moonlight helping to dispel darkness to the souls is the festive's motive. So

Murugan Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...

worship and festival start on this day every year.

Significance

The tale of Chitra Poornima is centred on Lord Indra, the Kings of Gods, and his Guru Brihaspati, according to the

Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam The ''Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam'' (; ) is a collection of sixty-four 16th-century Shaivite devotional epic stories by Paranjothi Munivar. They describe the actions (and antics) of Lord Shiva on Earth in a number of disguises to test and help his devo ...

and Tamil scriptures.

Lord Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> Ind ...

and Guru Brihaspati once got into an argument over something Lord Indra said to Guru Brihaspati. Guru Brihaspati, Indra's master and advisor, gave him instructions to make a pilgrimage to the earth in order to atone for his negative karma. After accepting, Lord Indra carried out his Guru's wish. Lord Indra discovered a shivaling while on the trip under the Kadamba tree. Later, he came to understand that it was Lord Shiva who was aiding him in lessening his bad deeds. He soon began presenting lotus flowers to Lord Shiva as an act of adoration. On the Chithirai month's full moon day, this incident occurred at

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

city. Since then, devotees perform pujas at the famous

Meenakshi Temple Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundaraswarar Temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi, a form of Parvati, and her consort, ...

in Madurai to worship the Lord.

References

{{Hindu festivals, state=collapsed Hindu festivals Hindu worship Hindu holy days Festivals in Tamil Nadu