Vedic Origin

The Kayastha trace their genealogy from Lord Chitragupta. It is said that after Lord Brahma had
created the four Varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras), Yama (Dharamraj) requested
Lord Brahma to help him record the deeds, both good and evil, of men and to administer justice.

According to the scriptures, Lord Brahma went into meditation for 11,000 years and when he
opened his eyes he saw a man holding a pen and ink-pot in his hands, as well as a sword girdled to
his waist. Lord Brahma spoke: ``Thou hast been created from my body (Kaya); therefore, shall thy
progeny be known as the Kayasthas. Thou hast been conceived in my mind (Chitra) and in secrecy
(gupta); thy name shall also be Chitragupta. Brahma then enjoined him to dispense justice and punish those
who violated the dharma. Thus, the Kayasthas were accorded a dual caste, Brahman/Kshatriya.

In the legends of Chitragupta as well as in the Vedas, he is referred to as the greatest King, while the
rest are "Rajakas," or little kings.

च इद राजा राजका इद यके यके सर वतीमनु ।

पज य इव ततनद ध व या सह मयु ता ददत ॥ RIG VEDA Book 8/ Hymn 21/ Stanza 18

In the Garud Purana, Chitragupta is hailed as the first man to give the script.

"Chitragupta namastubhyam vedaksaradatre"

(Obeisance to Chitragupta, the giver of letters)

The Rig Veda mentions an invocation to be made to Chitragupta before offering sacrifice. There is
also a special invocation to Chitragupta as Dharmraj (Lord of Justice) to be made at the
performance of shradh or other rituals.

"Om tat purushaya vidmahe Chitragupta dhimahi tena lekha prachodayata."

The priests also pay reverence to Shri Chitragupta :

"Yamam Dharmarajya Chitraguptaya vain namah."'

Lord Chitragupta is the Athi Devathai for Kethu, one of the Navagrahas, and those who worship
Chitragupta, would be bestowed with prosperity. Also the evil effects of Kethu during its transit
period would be mitigated.

The birthday of Shree Chitraguptaji is celebrated on Yamadwitiya and Chitraguptajayanti

Puja is performed on this day.

The privileges of performing religious duties related to Yamaraj and Chitraguptaji are reserved by
the Kayasthas. Of these, one of most important is the Chitraguptajayanti Puja. The greatness of this
yajna is that whoever performs it, is spared the punishments of hell, whatever his records of deeds
be.

The ancient story related to this is now told. There was a mighty king, who had subjugated the
whole world by his ambition to be the supreme King of Kings. The stories of his cruel deeds had
spread to all the corners of the world. His name was uttered only with great respect and a greater
fear at heart, for everyone knew that his deeds were vile and extreme. His name was Sudass, the
King of Saurastra, his capital, from where he ruled his vast empire with an iron fist. He was known
to be one of most ‘Adharmi’ (nearest meaning: ‘irreligious and one who crosses the threshold of
Dharma’) and perpetrator of ‘Paap’ (nearest meaning: ‘sins’). All through his extensive kingdom, it
was known that their king had never ever done a ‘Punya’ in his evil life. This King was fond of
hunting, and once on a hunting spree, was lost in the jungle. Unable to find his way out, and
unknown to fears of any kind, he decided to see what his jungles were like. He went on exploring
the jungles when he heard the sound certain ‘Mantras’ coming from North. He headed for the place
where the mantras where being chanted. There he found a few Brahmins performing a yajna and
few common people sitting to witness this. The king lost his cool on seeing a puja being performed
without his consent. He thus spoke with thunder in his voice:
“I am King Sudass, the King of Kings. Salute me you foolish men. Who are you and what are you
doing here? I demand an answer.”

The group of priests kept on chanting their mantra and paid no heed to the angry king, all the while
people sitting at some distance and witnessing the yajna being performed kept mum, being afraid of
the king. On being so ignored the king lost his cool and raised his sword to hit the head priest.
Seeing this, the youngest of the priests stood up and spoke thus:
“Stop! King Sudass, stop! Don’t turn this opportunity into a disaster. You have been sent here not
to be condemned but saved.”
On hearing these words the King became interested and said, “You, young boy, have great courage
and knowledge for your age. Will you elaborate on what you have just said?”

The young priest said to the King, “O Sudass, you call yourself the King of Kings: how mistaken
you are! When you die you would be subjugated to such punishments that your pride will vanish in
thin air. You want to know who these men are and what are they doing and what is the purport of
my speech. Then listen:
We are the sons of Lord Chitragupta, whom the great Rigveda call the true King of Kings, and
whose title you are not worth stealing. We are Kayasthas and we are performing yajna to our Lord
Yamaraj and our progenitor Maharaj Chitrgupta on this great day of Yamadwitiya. O King Sudass,
whoever performs this puja is spared the punishments of hell. You can be free from hell if you will
only submit to Yamaraj and Chitraguptaji, who has the record of all the sins that you have done in
your vile life! Nothing in this world is hidden from Him and only He could save you. On one hand
is salvation and on the other is hell. Come, join us or kill us all.”

The king was left dumbfounded and followed the young priest as if in a trance. He then performed
the puja with full devotion and the exact procedure. Thereafter he took the ‘prasaad’ and went back
to his kingdom with the other men.

With the passage of time there came the day when the Yamadoots came to take him away with
them, to the Yamaloka. The Yamadoots tied the king's soul in chains and pulled it to the court of
Yamaraja. When the bleeding and dilapidated King reached the court of Yamaraj, Lord Chitragupta
opened the book of his deeds and thus spoke to Yamaraj. “O great Yamaraj, I can only see a life full
of sins in his case, yet this king did perform our yajna in his life time? He performed the puja on
Karthik shukla dwitiya and with full devotion and the right procedure. He performed our and your
‘vrat’ on that day. Thereby, all his ‘paaps’ have been nullified and according to the rules of Dharma,
he cannot be sent to hell.” Thus the king was saved from hell and till this day whoever performs the
Chitraguptajayannti puja is spared the punishments of hell.

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