MokshadA EkAdasii and day of the Bhagavad-gita (fwd)

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"Nayana-ranjana (das) (BBT Bombay - IN)" <Nayana-ranjana

Katha, Deity.Worship, Brahmacarya

"(Krsna) Katha" <Katha

MokshadA EkAdasii and day of the Bhagavad-gita

 

MokshadA EkAdasii

 

Mokshada Ekadasi is a very special Ekadasi in two regards; today was the all

auspicious day on which Lord Shri Krishna spoke the Srimad Bhagavad Gita to

Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, at the place now known as Jyotisha

tirtha.

 

Anyone who gifts a Bhagavad Gita away to a deserving person on this day is

bestowed profuse blessings by the Sri Krishna Bhagavan.

 

The Ancient History of Mokshada Ekadasi from Brahmanda Purana:

 

Yudhishthira Maharaj said, "O Vishnu, master of all, O delight of the three

worlds, O Lord of the entire Universe, O creator of the world, O oldest

personality, O best of all beings, I offer my most respectful obeisances unto

You.

"O Lord of lords, for the benefit of all living entities, kindly answer

some questions that I have. What is the name of the Ekadasi that occurs during

the light fortnight of the month of Margashirsha (November-December) and

removes all sins? How does one observe it properly, and which Deity is

worshipped on that holiest of days? O my Lord please explain this to me in

full."

 

Lord Sri Krishna replied, "O dear Yudhishthira, your enquiry is very auspicious

in itself and will bring you fame. Just as I previously explained to you about

the dearest Utpannaa Maha-Dwadasi - which occurs during the dark part of the

month of Margashirsha, which is the day when Ekadasi-devi appeared from My body

to kill the demon Mura, and which benefits everything animate and inanimate in

the three worlds - so I shall now relate to you regarding this Ekadasi that

occurs during the light part of the month of Margashirsha. This Ekadasi is

famous as Mokshadaa because it purifies the faithful devotee of all sinful

reactions and bestows liberation upon him. The worshippable Deity of this all

auspicious day is Lord Damodara. With full attention one should worship Him

with incense, a ghee lamp, fragrant flowers, and Tulasi manjaris (buds).

 

"O best of saintly kings, please listen as I narrate to you the ancient and

auspicious history of this wonderful Ekadasi. Simply by hearing this history

one can attain the merit earned by performing a horse sacrifice. By the

influence of this merit, one's forefathers, mothers, sons, and other relatives

who have gone to hell can turn around and go to the heavenly kingdom. For this

reason alone, O king, you should listen with rapt attention to this narration.

"There once was a beautiful city named Champaka-nagar, which was decorated with

devoted Vaishnavas. There the best of saintly kings Maharaj Vaikhaanasa, ruled

over his subjects as if they were his very own dear sons and daughters. The

brahmins in that capital city were all expert in four kinds of Vedik knowledge.

The king, while ruling properly, had a dream one night in which his father was

seen to be suffering the pangs of hellish torture in one of the hellish planets

ruled over by the Yamaraj. The king was overwhelmed with compassion for his

father and shed tears. The next morning, Maharaj Vaikhaanasa described what he

had seen in his dream to his council of twice born learned brahmins.

 

" ' O brahmanas,' the king addressed them, 'in a dream last night I saw my

father suffering on a hellish planet. He was crying out in anguish, "O son,

please deliver me from this torment of this hellish condition !" Now I have no

peace in my mind, and even this beautiful kingdom has become unbearable to me.

Not even my horses, elephants, and chariots and my vast wealth in my treasury

that formerly brought so much pleasure, gives me no pleasure at all.

 

" 'Everything, O best of the brahmins, even my own wife and sons, have

become a source of unhappiness since I beheld my father suffering the tortures

of that hellish condition so. Where can I go, and what can I do, O brahmins, to

alleviate this misery? My body is burning with fear and sorrow ! Please tell me

what kind of charity, what mode of fasting, what austerity, or what deep

meditation, and in service upon which Deity I may have to perform to deliver my

father from that agony and bestow upon liberation upon my forefathers. O best

among the brahmins, what is the use of one's being a powerful son if one's

father must suffer on a hellish planet? Truly, such a son's life is utterly

useless, to him and to his forefathers.

 

" The twice born brahmins replied, 'O king, in the mountainous forest not

fat from here is the ashram where a great saint Parvata Muni resides. Please go

to him, for he is tri-kala-jnan (he knows the past, the present, and the future

of everything) and can surely help you in your gaining relief from your

misery.'

"Upon hearing this advise, the distressed king immediately set out on a

journey to the ashram of the famous sage Parvata Muni. The ashram was indeed

very big and housed many learned sages expert in chanting the sacred hymns of

the four Vedas (Rg, Yajur, Sama, and Arthava). Approaching the holy ashram, the

king beheld Parvata Muni seated among the assembly of sages adorned with

hundreds of tilaks (from all the authorised sampradayas) like another Brahmaa

or Vyaas.

"Maharaj Vaikhaanasa offered his humble obeisances to the muni, bowing his

head and then prostrating his entire body before him. After the king had seated

himself among the assembly Parvata Muni asked him about the welfare of the

seven limbs of his extensive kingdom (his ministers, his treasury, his military

forces, his allies, the brahmins, the sacrificial offerings performed, and the

needs of his subjects). The muni also asked him if his kingdom was free of

troubles and whether everyone was peaceful, happy and satisfied. To these

enquiries the king replied, 'By your mercy O glorious and great sage, all seven

limbs of my kingdom are doing very well. Yet there is a problem that has

recently arisen, and to solve it I have come to you, O brahmana for your expert

help and guidance'.

"Then Parvata Muni, the best of all sages, closed his eyes and meditated on

the king's past, present and future. After a few moments he opened his eyes and

said, 'Your father is suffering the results of committing a great sin, and I

have discovered what it is. In his previous life he quarrelled with his wife

and forcibly enjoyed her sexually during her menstrual period. She tried to

protest and resist his advances and even yelled out, "Someone please save me!

Please, O husband, do not interrupt my monthly period in this way!" Still he

did not stop or leave her alone. It is on account of this grievous sin that

your father father now has fallen into such a hellish condition of suffering.'

 

"King Vaikhaanasa then said, 'O greatest among sages, by what process of

fasting or charity may I liberate my dear father from such a condition? Please

tell me how I can relieve and remove the burden of his sinful reactions, which

are a great obstacle to his progress toward ultimate release (salvation -

liberation - going back home).'

 

"Parvata Muni replied, 'During the light fortnight of the month of

Margashirsha there occurs an Ekadasi called Mokshadaa. If you observe this

sacred Ekadasi strictly, with a full fast, and give directly to your suffering

father the merit you with thus attain/obtain, he will be freed from his pain

and instantly liberated'.

 

"Hearing this, Maharaj Vaikhaanasa profusely thanked the great sage and

then returned to his palace to perform his vrata (austere rite). O

Yudhishthira, when the light part of the month of Margashirsha at last arrived,

Maharaj Vaikhaanasa faithfully waited for the Ekadasi tithi to arrive. He then

perfectly and with full faith observed the Ekadasi fast with his wife,

children, and other relatives. He dutifully gave the merit from this fast to

his father, and as he made the offering, beautiful flower petals showered down

from the devas who peered out from behind the clouds in the sky. The king's

father was then praised by the messengers of the demigods (devas) and escorted

to the celestial region. As he passed his son, as he traversed the lower to

middle to higher planets, the father said to the king, 'My dear son, all

auspiciousness unto you!'

 

At last he reached the heavenly realm from where he can again with his newly

acquired merit perform devotional service to Krishna or Vishnu and in due

course return back to home back to Godhead.

 

"O son of Pandu, who so ever strictly observes the sacred Mokshadaa Ekadasi,

following the established rules and regulations, achieves full and perfect

liberation after death. There is no better fasting day than this Ekadasi of the

light fortnight of the month of Margashirsha, O Yudhishthira, for it is a

crystal-clear and sinless day. Whoever faithfully observes this Ekadasi fast,

which is like chintaa-mani (a gem that yields all desires), obtains special

merit that is very hard to calculate, for this day can elevate one from hellish

life to the heavenly planets, and for one who observes Ekadasi for his own

spiritual benefit, this elevates one to go back to Godhead, never to return to

this material world."

 

Thus end the narration of the glories of Margashirsha-shukla Ekadasi or

Mokshada Ekadasi, from the Brahmanda Purana.