Bhaimi EkAdasii(JayA Ekaadasii) From Bhavishya-uttara Puran

[Guest guest]

Bhaimi EkAdasii

(JayA Ekaadasii)

 

 

Ekadashi meditations

 

It is said that if one observes upavasa on this day

then one receives

entrance to Visnu's abode, even though one has not

performed the other

vratas of the year.

 

NOTE: The half day fast (vrata) for the appearance of

Lord Varahadev is

also

observed on this Ekaadasii day, and the utsav

(festival celebration -

pujas

and feasting, etc.) is oserved on the Dvaadasii, which

is when He

appeared.

 

Yudhisthira Maharaj said, "Oh Lord of the lords, Sri

Krishna, all

glories

unto You! Oh Master of the universe, You alone are the

source of the

four

types of living entities

 

those born from eggs,

 

those born from perspiration,

 

those born from seeds and

 

those born from embryos.

 

You alone are the root cause of all, Oh Lord, and

therefore You are the

creator, maintainer and destroyer.

 

"My Lord, You have so kindly explained to me the

auspicious day known

as

Sat-tilA EkAdasi, which occurs during the dark

fortnight (krishna

paksha) of

the month of MAgha (January - February). Now please

explain to me the

EkAdasii that occurs in the light fortnight (shukla or

Gaura paksha) of

this

month. By what name is it known, and what is the

process for observing

it?

Who is the presiding Deity that is to be worshipped on

this sublime

day,

which is so very dear to You?

 

Lord Sri Krishna replied, "Oh Yudhisthira, I shall

gladly tell you

about the

EkAdasii that occurs during the light half of this

month of MAgha. This

EkAdasii obliterates all kinds of sinful reactions and

demoniac

influences

that may be affecting the spirit soul. It is known as

JayA Ekaadasii,

and

the fortunate soul who observes a fast on this sacred

day is relieved

of the

great burden of ghostly existence. Thus there is no

better Ekaadasii

than

this, for it truly bestows freedom from birth and

death. It is to be

honoured very carefully and diligently. So you to

listen to Me very

attentively, Oh Pandava, as I explain a wonderful

historic episode

regarding

this Ekaadasii, an episode that I have already related

in the Padma

Purana.

 

"Long, long ago in the heavenly planets, Lord Indra

ruled his celestial

kingdom very nicely, and all the devas (demigods)

living there were

very

happy and content. In Nandana Forest, which was

beautifully graced with

Parijata Flowers, Indra drank ambrosia whenever he

liked and enjoyed

the

service of fifty million celestial maidens, the

Apsaras, who danced in

ecstasy for his pleasure.

 

"Many singers, led by Pushpadanta, sang in sweet

voices beyond compare.

Chitrasena, Indra's chief musician was there in the

company of his wife

MAlini and his handsome son MAlyavAn. An Apsara named

Pushpavati became

very

much attracted to MAlyavAn; indeed Cupid's sharp

arrows pierced the

core of

her heart. Her beautiful body and complexion, along

with the enchanting

movements of her eyebrows, captivated MAlayavAn.

 

"Oh King, listen as I describe the splendid beauty of

Pushpavati: She

has

incomparably graceful arms with which to embrace a man

like a fine

silken

noose; her face resembles the Moon; her lotus eyes

reached almost to

her

lovely ears, which were adorned with wonderful and

costly ear-rings;

her

thin, ornamented neck looked like a conch, having

three lines; her

waist was

very slender, the size of a fist; her hips were broad,

and her thighs

like

the trunks of banana trees; her naturally beautiful

features were

complemented by gorgeous ornaments and garments; her

breasts were

highly

raised emphasizing her prime of youth; and to look

upon her feet was to

behold newly grown red lotuses.

 

"Seeing Pushpavati in all her heavenly beauty,

MAlyavAn was bewitched

at

once. They had come with the other performers to

please Lord Indra by

singing and dancing enchantingly, but because they had

become so

enamored of

each other, pierced through the heart by the arrows of

Cupid, lust

personified, they were utterly unable to sing or dance

properly before

the

lord and master of the heavenly realms.

 

Their pronunciation was wrong and their rhythm

careless. Lord Indra

understood the source of the errors at once. Offended

at the discord in

the

musical performance, he became very angry and

screamed, "You useless

fools!

You pretend to sing for me while in a stupour of

infatuation with each

other! You are mocking me! I curse you both to suffer

henceforth as

pisAchas

(hobgoblins). As husband and wife, go to the earthly

regions and reap

the

reactions of your offenses.'

 

"Struck dumb by these harsh words, MAlyavAn and

Pushpavati at once

became

morose and fell from the beautiful Nandana Forest in

the kingdom of

heaven

to a Himalayan peak here on planet Earth.

 

Immeasurably distressed, and their celestial

intelligence vastly

diminished

by the effects of lord Indra's fierce curse, they lost

their sense of

taste

and smell, and even their sense of touch. It was so

cold and miserable

high

on the Himalayan wastes of snow and ice that they

could not even enjoy

the

oblivion of sleep.

 

"Roaming aimlessly hither and thither in those harsh

altitudes,

MAlyavAn and

Pushpavati suffered more and more, from one moment to

the next. Even

though

they were situated in a cave, because of the snowfall

and cold their

teeth

chattered ceaselessly, and their hair stood on end

because of their

fright

and bewilderment.

 

"In this utterly desperate situation, MAlyavAn said to

Pushpavati,

'What

abominable sins did we commit to have to suffer in

these pisAcha

bodies, in

this impossible environment? This is absolutely

hellish! Though hell is

very

ferocious, the suffering we are undergoing here is

even more

abominable.

Therefore it is abundantly clear that one should never

commit sins".

 

"And so the forlorn lovers trudged onward in the snow

and ice. By their

great good fortune, however, it so happened that very

day was the all

auspicious JayA (Bhaimi) Ekaadasii, the Ekaadasii of

the light

fortnight of

the month of MAgha. Because of their misery they

neglected to drink any

water, kill any game, or even eat whatever fruits and

leaves were

available

at that altitude, they unknowingly observed Ekaadasii

by fasting

completely

from all food and drink. Sunk in misery MAlyavAn and

Pushpavati

collapsed

beneath a Pipal tree and did not even try to get up.

The Sun had set by

that

time.

 

"The night was even colder and more miserable than the

day. They

shivered in

the frigid snowfall as their teeth chattered in

unison, and when they

became

numb, they embraced just to keep warm. Locked in each

other's arms,

they

could enjoy neither sleep nor sex. Thus they suffered

through the whole

night under the powerful curse of the deva Indra.

 

"Still, Oh Yudhisthira, by the mercy of the fast they

had by chance

(unknowingly) observed on JayA EkAdasii, and because

they had remained

awake

all night, they were blessed.

 

Please hear what happened on the next day. As DwAdasii

dawned, MAlyavAn

and

Pushpavati had given up their demoniac forms and were

once again

beautiful

heavenly beings wearing lustrous ornaments and

exquisite garments. As

they

both looked at each other in amazement, a celestial

airplane (vimana)

arrived on the spot for them. A chorus of heavenly

denizens sang their

praises as the reformed couple stepped into the

beautiful aircraft and

proceeded directly to the heavenly regions, buoyed up

by the good

wishes of

everyone. Soon MAlyavAn and Pushpavati arrived at

AmarAvati, Lord

Indra's

capital city, and then they immediately went before

their lord

(Indradev)

and offered him their cheerful obeisances.

 

"Lord Indra was astonished to see that they had been

transformed,

restored

to their original status and forms so soon after he

had cursed them to

suffer as demons far, far below his celestial kingdom.

Indradev ask of

them,

`What extraordinary meritorious deeds have you

performed so that you

could

give up your pisAcha bodies so quickly after I cursed

you? Who released

you

from my irresistible curse?

 

"MAlyavAn replied, `Oh lord, it was by the extreme

mercy of the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna (VAsudeva)

and also by the

powerful

influence of the JayA EkAdasii, that we were released

from our

suffering

condition as pisAchas. This is the truth, Oh master:

Because we

executed

devotional service to Lord Vishnu (even performed

unknowingly - by

ajnAta

sukriti) by observing the day most dear to Him, we

have happily been

restored to our former status."

 

"Indradev then said, `Because you served the Supreme

Lord Sri Keshava

by

observing EkAdasii, you have become worshippable even

by me, and I can

see

that you are now completely purified of sin. Whosoever

engages in

devotional

service to Lord Sri Hari or Lord Shiva becomes

praiseworthy and

worshippable

even by me. Of this there is no doubt.' Lord Indradev

then gave

MAlyavAn and

Pushpavati free rein to enjoy each other and wander

about his heavenly

planet as they wished.

 

"Therefore, Oh Maharaj Yudhisthira, one should

strictly observe a fast

on

the sacred day of Lord Hari, especially on this JayA

EkAdasii, which

frees

one from the sin of killing even a twice born brahmin.

A great soul who

observes this fast with full faith and devotion has in

effect given all

kinds of charity, performed all kinds of sacrifice,

and bathed in all

the

Holy places of pilgrimage. Fasting on JayA EkAdasii

qualifies one to

reside

in Vaikuntha and enjoy unending happiness for billions

of yugas -

indeed,

forever as the soul is eternal. Oh great king, Lord

Sri Krishna

continued,

one who even hears or reads these wonderful glories of

JayA EkAdasii

achieves the blessed merit attained by performing an

Agnistoma fire

sacrifice, during which the hymns from the Sama-veda

are recited."

 

Note on Cupid: KAmadeva, lust personified, has five

names according to

the

Amara-kosha dictionary: kandarpa darpako `nanga kAmah

pancha-sharaih

smarah

"Cupid has five names; (1) Cupid; (2) Darpaka, `he who

prevents future

events'; (3) Ananga, `he who has no physical body';

(4) KAma, `lust

personified'; and (5) Pancha-sharaih, `he who holds

five arrows' ".

 

Kandarpa: In the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita

(BG 10:28.) Lord

Sri

Krishna says, prajanash cAsmi kandarpah; "Of causes

for procreation, I

am

Kandarpa". The word Kandarpa also means "very

beautiful". Kandarpa

appeared

as Lord Krishna's son Pradyumna in DwArakA.

 

Darpaka: This name indicates that Cupid can perceive

what is to take

place

and prevent it from happening. Specifically, he tries

to impede pure

spiritual activity by alluring one's mind and forcibly

engaging one in

material sense enjoyment.

 

Ananga: Once, when Cupid disturbed the meditation of

Lord Shiva, that

powerful deva (demigod) burned him (Cupid) to ashes.

Still, Shiva gave

Cupid

the benediction that he would act in the world even

without a physical

body

- like a ghost.

 

KAma: In Bhagavad Gita BG 7:11.) Lord Sri Krishna

says, dharmAviruddho

bhuteshu kAmo'smi: "I am sex life which is not

contrary to religious

principles."

 

Pancha-sharaih: The five arrows with which Cupid

pierces the mind of

the

living entities are taste, touch, sound, smell, and

sight.

 

These are the five names of the empowered deva Cupid,

who enchants all

living entities and makes them do whatever he wants.

Without receiving

the

mercy of Guru and Krishna one cannot resist his power.

 

Thus ends the narration of the glories of MAgha-shukla

EkAdasii, or

JayA

EkAdasii, from the Bhavishya-uttara Purana.

 

Hare Krishna

 

yr hs

radhabhava gaur das

 

 

 

 

_________

ALL-NEW Messenger - all new features - even more fun!

http://uk.messenger.