Citrā Pūrṇimā (Chithirai Pournami) is the full moon of Cittirai, the first month of the Tamil year, and it belongs especially to Citragupta, Yama's record-keeper who writes down every being's good and bad deeds. Devotees worship him on this day hoping for a kinder reckoning of their karma. The day is kept with sacred baths and charity, and for many Tamil families its abiding memory is a shared meal under the full moon. How the day is fixed: The day is the one in the Tamil solar month Cittirai on which Pūrṇimā prevails at local sunrise. Keep in mind: Because Cittirai is a solar month, this full moon is Caitra Pūrṇimā in some years and Vaiśākha Pūrṇimā in others, usually in late April or May. The full moon is read at local sunrise, so the date can differ by a day between places. This year: The 2026 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Pen and notebook for Citragupta: Families place a pen and notebook before Citragupta's image and pray for a merciful record. One story says Pārvatī drew a picture, Śiva gave it life, and the figure born of the picture (citra) came to be called Citragupta. Bath, fast and charity: Devotees bathe in a river or temple tank in the morning, and some keep a fast. Annadāna and summer gifts such as buttermilk are given, and the ancient Citragupta temple at Kāñcipuram draws large crowds. Moonlit meal: In the evening families gather by a river or on the terrace under the full moon and share chitrānnam, the mixed rices of lemon, coconut and tamarind. In local custom some go to the banks of the Chitra in Tirunelveli district for this meal. Worth remembering: Madurai's Cittirai festival, with Mīnākṣī's wedding and Kallazhagar entering the Vaigai, often overlaps this season but is a separate multi-day temple festival. Citrā Pūrṇimā itself is the Citragupta full moon kept in homes across Tamil Nadu. Family custom decides how the day is kept. In some Kaumāra and Śaiva households Cittirai Pūrṇimā opens the year's Murugan observances, with a fast and worship of the Vel alongside or instead of the Citragupta rites. At Tiruvannamalai huge crowds walk the girivalam round the hill that night. Beyond the general rules, the fullest fruit comes from following the elders of one's own house.
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