Ekadashi Mahatmya

[Guest guest]

him the following pleasing words: 'Oh king, please listen carefully as I narrate

to you the process of fasting on PadminI EkAdasii, which is rarely done even by

great sages."'One should begin his fast on the Dashami, the day before

EkAdasii, by not eating any Urad dAhl, pink dAhl, chickpeas, spinach, honey, or

sea salt, and also by not dining in homes of others or off bell-metal plates.

These eight things should be avoided. One should eat only once on the Dashami,

sleep on the ground, and remain celibate. On EkAdasii the devotee should

riseearly in the morning but should not brush his teeth. Then he should

thoroughly bathe - in a place of pilgrimage, if possible. While chanting sacred

hymns from the Vedas, he should smear his body with cow dung mixed with clay,

sesame-seed paste, kusha grass, and the powder of AmalakI fruits. Then the

devotee should take another thorough bath, after which he should chantthe

following prayers: "'"Oh sacred clay, you have been created

by Lord BrahmA, purified by Kashyapa Muni, and lifted by Lord Krishna in His

form as VarAha, the boar incarnation. Oh clay, please purify my head, eyes, and

other limbs. Oh clay, I offer my obeisances unto you. Kindly purify me so I may

worship the Supreme Lord, Sri Hari. "'"Oh cow-dung, you posses medicinal

andantiseptic qualities because you have come directly from the stomach of our

universal mother, the cow. You can purify the entire planet Earth. Please

accept my humble obeisances and purify me. "'"Oh AmalakI fruits, please accept

my humble obeisances. You have taken your birth from the saliva of Lord BrahmA,

and thus by your very presence the entire planet is purified. Kindly cleanse and

purify my bodily limbs. "'"Oh Supreme Lord Vishnu, Oh God of the gods, Oh master

of the universe, Oh holder of the conch, disc, club, and lotus, please allow me

to bathe in all the holy places of pilgrimage.""'Reciting these excellent

prayers, chanting mantras to Lord VaruNa, and

meditating on all the places of pilgrimage located on the banks of the Ganges,

one should bathe in whatever body of water is at hand. Then, Oh Yudhishthira,

the devotee should rub his body, thus purifying his mouth, back, chest, arms,

and waist as a prelude to worshipping the Supreme Lord, who wears brilliant

yellow garments and gives pleasure to all creatures. By so doing, the devotee

will destroy all his sins. Afterwards, he shouldchant the sacred Gayatri

mantra, offer oblations to his forefathers, and then enter a Vishnu temple to

worship Lord NarAyaNa, the husband of the Goddess of Fortune, Laxmi-devi."'If

possible, the devotee should then fashion Deities of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna

or Shiva and Parvati out of gold and offer them ice devotional worship. He

should fill a copper or clay pot with pure water mixed with scents, and then he

should cover the pot with a cloth lid and a gold or silver lid, in this way

preparing an Asana upon which the Radha-Krishna or

Shiva-Parvati murthis may sit for worship. According to capacity, the devotee

should then worship these murtis with fragrant incense, a bright ghee lamp, and

sandalwood paste along with camphor, musk, kumkum, and other scents, as well as

selected aromatic flowers like white lotuses and other seasonal blooms, and

also very nicely prepared foods. On this special EkAdasii the devotees should

dance and sing ecstatically before the Deity. He should avoid prajalpa (talking

unnecessarily of ordinary, mundane conversational topics) at all costs and

should not talk to or touch low-born persons (untrained persons habituated to

low acts) or a woman in her menstrual period, or others so absorbed. On this

day he should be especially careful to speak the truth and certainly not

criticize anyone before the Deity of Lord Vishnu, the brahmins, or the

spiritual master. Rather, with other devotees he should be absorbed in

listening to Vaishnavas read the glories of Lord Vishnu from the PurANas. One

should not drink or even touch water to his lips on this EkAdasii, and one who

is unable to perform this austerity should drink only water or milk. Otherwise,

the fast is considered broken. One should remain awake that EkAdasii night,

singing and playing musical instruments for the transcendental pleasure of the

Supreme Person."'During the first quarter of the EkAdasii night the devotee

should offer some coconut meat to his worshippable Deity (Isthadeva), during

the second part he should offer soothing bel fruit, during the third part an

orange, and as the night draws to a close some betel nut. Remaining awake

during the first part of the EkAdasii night bestows on the devotee/sadhaka the

same merit as that gained by performing the Agnistoma-yajna. Staying awake

during the second part of the night bestows the same merit as that gained by

performing a VAjapeya-yajna. Stay awake during the third part gives one the

same merit as that attained by performing an Ashvamedha-yajna.

And one who remains awake throughout the night receives all of the above

mentioned merit, as well as the grand merit of having performed a

RajasUrya-yajna. Thus there is no better fasting day in the year than PadminI

EkAdasii. Nothing can compare to it as a giver of merit, whether it be a fire

sacrifice, knowledge, education, or austerity. Indeed, whoever observes this

sacred EkAdasii fast receives all the merit attained by bathing in all the

places of pilgrimage in the world."'After remaining awake throughout the night,

the devotee should bathe at sunrise and then worship Me nicely. He should then

feed a qualified brahmin and respectfully give him the Deity of Lord Keshava

and the pot filled with pure scented water. This gift will guarantee the

devotee success in this life and liberation in the hereafter."'Oh sinless

Yudhishthira, as you have requested, I have described the rules and

regulations, as well as the benefits, regarding the EkAdasii that occurs during

the

light fortnight of the extra, leap-year month. Fasting on this PadminI day

bestows merit equal to that gained by fasting on all other EkAdasiis. The

EkAdasii that occurs during the dark part of the extra month, which is known as

ParamA EkAdasii, is as powerful at removing sin as this one, PadminI. Now please

listen to Me carefully as I narrate to you a fascinating account connected with

this sacred day. Pulastya Muni once recited this history to NAradji."'Pulastya

Muni once had occasion to rescue the ten headed demon RAvana from the prison of

KartaviryArjuna, and upon hearing of this event Narada Muni asked his friend,

"Oh greatest of sages, since this Ravana defeated all the demigods, including

Lord Indradev, how could KartaviryArjuna defeat Ravana, who was so skilled in

battle?""'Pulastya Muni replied, "Oh great Narada, during the TretAyuga,

KArtavirya (KArtaviryArjuna's father) took birth in the Haihaya dynasty. His

capital city was Mahishmati, and he had one

thousand Queens, whom he loved very dearly. None of them, however, was able to

give him the son he wanted so badly. He performed sacrifices and worshipped the

devas (demigods) and forefathers (pitris), but due to the curse of some sage he

was unable to beget a son - and without a son, a king cannot enjoy his kingdom,

just as a hungry man can never really enjoy his senses."'"King KArtavirya

carefully considered his plight and then decided to perform severe austerities

to achieve his goal. Thus he donned a loincloth made of bark, grew matted

locks, and turned over the reins of his kingdom to his ministers. One of his

queens, Padmini - who was born in the IkshvAku dynasty, who was the best of all

women, and who was the daughter of King Harishchandra - saw the king leaving.

She felt that, since she was a chaste wife, her duty was to follow in the

footsteps of her beloved husband. Removing all the regal ornaments from her

beautiful body and donning but one piece of cloth, she

thus followed her husband into the forest."'"At last KArtavirya reached the

summit of Mount GandhamAdana, where he performed severe austerities and

penances for ten thousand years, meditating and praying to Lord GadAdhara, who

wields a club. But still he did not get a son. Seeing her dear husband waste

away to mere skin and bone, Padmini thought of a solution to the problem. She

went to the chaste AnasUya. With great reverence, Padmini said, 'Oh great lady,

my dear husband, KArtavirya, has been performing austerities for the last ten

thousand years, but Lord Krishna (Keshava), who alone can remove one's past

sins and present difficulties, has not yet become pleased with him. Oh most

fortunate one, please tell me a fast day we can observe and thus please the

Supreme Lord with our devotion, so much so that He will bless me with a nice

son who will later rule the world as emperor.'"'"Upon hearing the appealing

words of Padmini, who was very chaste and deeply devoted to

her husband, the great AnasUya replied to her in a very cheerful mood: 'Oh

beautiful, lotus-eyed lady, usually there are twelve months in a year, but

after every thirty-two months an extra month is added, and the two EkAdasiis

that occur during this month are called Padmini EkAdasii and ParamA EkAdasii.

They fall on the DvAdasiis of the light and dark part of the month,

respectively. You should fast on these days and remain awake throughout the

night. If you do so, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Hari, will bless

you with a son.'"'"Oh Narada, in this way AnasUya, the daughter of the sage

Kardama Muni, explained the potency of these special EkAdasis. Hearing this,

Padmini faithfully followed the instructions to fulfill her desire for a son.

Padmini fasted completely, even from water, and remained awake all night,

chanting the glories of God and dancing in ecstasy. Lord Keshava thus became

most pleased with her devotion and appeared before her, riding on the back of

the great GaruDa. The Lord said, 'Oh beautiful one, you have greatly pleased Me

by fasting on the special EkAdasii of the extra month of Purushottama. Please

ask Me for a benediction.'"'"Hearing these sublime words from the overseer of

the entire universe, Padmini offered the Supreme Lord devotional prayers and

asked Him for the boon her husband desired. Lord Keshava (Krishna) was moved to

reply, 'Oh gentle lady, I am very happy with you, for there is no month dearer

to Me than this, and the EkAdasiis that occur during this month are the most

dear to Me of all EkAdasiis. You have followed My devotee AnasUya's

instructions perfectly, and therefore I shall do what will please you. You and

your husband will have the desired son that you wish.'"'"The Lord, who removes

the distress of the world, then spoke to King KArtavirya: 'Oh King, please ask

of Me any boon that will fulfill your heart's desire, for your dear wife has

pleased Me greatly with her devotional

fasting.'"'"The king was very happy to hear this. Naturally he asked for the son

he had desired for so long: 'Oh master of the universe, Oh killer of the

Madhu-demon, kindly grant me a son who will never be conquered by the demigods,

human beings, snakes, demons, or hobgoblins, but whom only You can defeat.' The

Supreme Lord immediately replied, 'So be it!' and disappeared."'"The king

became so very pleased with his wife and returned to his palace in her company.

Padmini soon became pregnant, and the mighty-armed KArtaviryArjuna appeared as

her son. He was the mightiest person in all the three worlds, and thus even the

ten-headed RAvana could not defeat him in battle. Except for Lord NArAyaNa, who

holds a club, a disc, and other symbols in His hands no one could overcome

him. By the merit that resulted from his mother's strict and faithful

observance of PadminI EkAdasii, he could defeat even the dreaded RAvana. This

is not at all surprising, Oh NAradji, for

KArtaviryArjuna was the fulfillment of the benediction of the Supreme

Personality of Godhead." With these words, Pulastya Muni departed.'"The Supreme

Lord, Sri Krishna, concluded, 'Oh sinless Yudhishthira, as you have enquired

from Me, I have explained to you the power of this special EkAdasii. Oh best of

kings, whoever observes this fast will surely attain to My personal abode. And

similarly, if you want all your desires fulfilled, you should do

likewise.'"Hearing these words from the mouth of his beloved Keshava,

DharmarAja (Yudhishthira) became filled with joy, and when the time came he

faithfully observed PadminI EkAdasii."SUta Goswami concluded, "Oh sage Saunaka,

I have explained to you all about this meritorious EkAdasii. Anyone who

devotedly fasts on the EkAdasiis that occur during the extra, leap-year months,

carefully following all the rules, becomes glorious and happily goes back to

Godhead. And one who merely hears or reads about these EkAdasiis

will also obtain great merit and ultimately enter the abode of Lord Sri

Hari.".Thus ends the narration of the glories of PadminI EkAdasii, the EkAdasii

that occurs during the light fortnight of the extra, leap-year month of

Purushottama, from the Skanda PurANa