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Credit: DH Illustration
Societally, people are becoming fearless and not always in the sense of doing what is right. Today, people are daring to act as the spirit leads them, with no worry about the dharma of their actions or accruing karma. Little do they realise that come the day of Judgment, one’s deeds and misdeeds will bear an impact on due reward or punishment.
Hindus worship Chitragupta, a divine book keeper, for a favourable verdict. Born on Chitra Pournami, the seventeenth ManasPutra of Brahma, Chitragupta, was formed out of Brahma’s soul and mind and was assigned the task of maintaining records of the good and bad deeds of humans and could determine whether they go to heaven or hell. The souls of human beings, after their life on earth, travel to yamaloka where the yamadutas keep log books. Yamaraj, the presiding deity, has Chitragupta close at hand to dispense justice.
Before the birth of Chitragupta, Yama himself maintained the records. Finding the task overwhelming, Yama asked Brahma for an assistant. Brahma temporarily handed over his responsibilities to Surya, the sun god. He then went on to meditate for years, after which the skilled bookkeeper Chitragupta materialised with a writing implement and a palm leaf.
Another story attributes the birth of Chitragupta to Ma Parvathi’s request to Brahma for a person to maintain accounts of individuals. Brahma drew an image of Chitragupta on a block of wood and breathed life into him.
Besides Hinduism, other faiths too have their versions of the day of Judgment. Christians talk of the day of final Judgment as the crack of doom when the destiny of the good and wicked will vest in the hands of God. There are references in the Quran and Hadith to the day of judgment. All who have lived are held to account for their actions and sent to paradise or hell (Jannah or Jahannam). Traversing over raging fires via a narrow, sharp bridge is itself hellish for the sinners.
According to Zoroastrianism, a soul waits for three nights by the grave and goes to the bridge of the requiter, where the person’s deeds are weighed. If good outweighs the bad, the soul crosses the bridge to Heaven. Doing as much good as one can on earth can tilt the scales favourably on the days of judgment.