Chitragupta Puja 2026

About Chitragupta Puja

Chitragupta Puja, also called Kalam-Dawat Puja, falls on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, the same day as Bhai Dooj. Kayastha families worship Chitragupta, the scribe of Yama who in Hindu tradition records every person's deeds, along with their own pens, inkpots and account books. It is kept mainly in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and among Kayasthas in Nepal.

In a Kayastha home on the morning after Govardhan Puja, the pens are missing. They were collected the day before and laid beside a picture of Chitragupta, with the inkpot, the account books and often the children's notebooks. Nobody writes until the puja is over, and the first thing written is a prayer and an account of the year's earnings, addressed to the god who keeps the books.

Who keeps it, and why on Bhai Dooj

Chitragupta is Yama's record keeper. The Garuda and Padma Puranas place him beside the god of death, reading out a soul's deeds so that Yama can judge it. Since Yama Dwitiya is Yama's own day, the tithi on which he is said to have eaten at his sister Yamuna's home, his scribe is worshipped with him. The Yama Dwitiya katha read at the puja tells devotees to do both: worship Dharmaraja and Chitragupta, and then go to a sister's house for a meal. So in Kayastha families Bhai Dooj and Chitragupta Puja are one day with two rituals, the tilak and the pen.

The puja belongs above all to the Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of the Hindi belt and Nepal, who regard Chitragupta as their kuldevta and their ancestor. Their twelve subgroups (Srivastava, Mathur, Saxena, Nigam, Kulshreshtha, Bhatnagar, Ambashtha, Asthana, Suryadhwaj, Gaur, Karna and Valmik) each trace themselves to one of his twelve sons. Not every community called Kayastha shares this origin. The Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus of Maharashtra trace descent from the warrior Chandrasen, and Bengali Kayasthas have a separate history.

The pen is not only symbolic. Kayasthas were the scribes and accountants of north Indian courts for centuries; under Akbar and Todar Mal many became qanungos and patwaris, and the Kaithi script once used across Bihar and Awadh is named after them. A puja to the pen is also a family remembering its trade.

The story read at the puja

Two stories are told. The first explains who Chitragupta is. Yama complained to Brahma that he could not keep track of the deeds of every creature alone. Brahma meditated for a very long time, and a man rose from his body holding a pen and an inkpot. Because he came from Brahma's body, his kaya, he was called Kayastha; because he would record the hidden as well as the seen, Chitragupta. Texts disagree on his wives' names: the katha names Iravati and Dakshina, other accounts Nandini and Shobhavati.

The second story, the Yama Dwitiya katha, is framed as Bhishma answering Yudhishthira. Saudas, a king of Saurashtra with a long list of sins, comes upon a Brahmin worshipping Yama and Chitragupta in a forest, learns the vrat and keeps it. When he dies and is dragged before Yama, Chitragupta reads out his record and then argues for him: the sins are real, but so is the one vrat. Yama lets him go. The point families take from it is that the record keeper is also the one who speaks for you.

How the puja is done

Homes and community halls follow roughly the same order. In cities, Kayastha associations often hold a shared puja with a havan, followed by lunch.

1. Put the pens awayWriting stops the day before. Pens, the inkpot and account books are collected and kept in the puja corner.
2. Set up the chowkiA picture or image of Chitragupta goes on a low stool, often on a red cloth, with a ghee lamp.
3. Offer and worshipRoli, akshat, flowers, fruit and sweets are offered to Chitragupta and to the pen and inkpot, which stand in for him.
4. Write the first linesOn white paper, often in red ink or turmeric, people write Shri Ganeshaya Namah and Om Chitraguptaya Namah, sometimes eleven times each, and draw a swastik.
5. Give an accountEarning members write down what the household earned and what it will need in the year ahead. Some add five deity names and a personal wish, then fold the paper and leave it by the picture.
6. Hear the katha and do the aartiThe Saudas story is read, the aarti is sung and prasad is shared. Only now does everyone start writing again.

Trading families also open the new bahi-khata bought at Diwali on this day, marking its first page with a swastik and Shri before any entry is made.

How long the writing pause lasts varies by family, though most begin it a day before.

How the date is set

The puja follows the Kartik Shukla Dwitiya tithi, and panchangs such as Drik Panchang give an aparahna (afternoon) muhurat for it. When the Dwitiya begins in the afternoon of one day and ends the next afternoon, panchangs and state holiday lists can land on different days, so families go by their own pandit or local calendar. The exact muhurat changes with your city's sunrise and sunset.

Where else Chitragupta is worshipped

In Tamil Nadu, Chitragupta's main day is Chitra Pournami, in April or May, not Yama Dwitiya.

What to write

In Bihar and Jharkhand, Chhath Puja begins two days later.

How to wish someone on Chitragupta Puja

A good Chitragupta Puja wish is about learning, honest work and a clean record, the things Chitragupta stands for in the tradition, rather than money alone. Because the day is also Bhai Dooj, one message can cover both. For a student, mention studies or exams; for someone who keeps accounts, a fresh ledger. Keep caste out of both the joke and the compliment, and wish it as you would any family puja.

Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.

Language tip: English, Hindi.

When is Chitragupta Puja in each year?

Chitragupta Puja is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 11 days earlier than in 2026.

Frequently asked questions