Amalaki Ekadasi-21st march -monday(Pl refer your local chart for the

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Amalaki EkAdasi

from Brahmanda Puran

 

King MAndhAtA once said to Vasishtha Muni, "O great

sage, kindly be

merciful

to me and tell me of a holy fast that will benefit me

eternally."

 

Vasishtha Muni replied. "O king, kindly listen as I

describe the best

of all

fast days, Amalakii EkAdasi. He who faithfully

observes a fast on this

EkAdasii obtains enormous wealth, gets free of the

effects of all kinds

of

sins, and attains liberation. Fasting on this EkAdasii

is more

purifying

than donating one thousand cows in charity to a pure

brAhmana. So

please

hear me attentively as I tell you the story of a

hunter who, though

daily

engaged in killing innocent animals for his living,

achieved liberation

by

observing a fast on Amalakii EkAdasii following the

prescribed rules

and

regulations of worship.

 

"There was once a kingdom named VaidishA, where all

the brAhmanas,

kshatriyas, vaishyas, and shudras were equally endowed

with Vedic

knowledge,

great bodily strength, and fine intelligence. Oh lion

among kings, the

whole

kingdom was full of Vedic sounds, not a single person

was atheistic,

and no

one sinned. The ruler of this kingdom was King

PAshabinduka, a member

of the

dynasty of Soma, the moon. He was also known as

Chitraratha and was

very

religious and truthful. It is said that King

Chitraratha had the

strength of

ten thousand elephants and that he was very wealthy

and knew the six

branches of Vedic wisdom perfectly.

 

"During the reign of Maharaja Chitraratha, not a

single person in his

kingdom attempted to practice another's dharma (duty)

so perfectly

engaged

in their own dharmas were all the brAhmanas,

kshatriyas, vaisyas, and

sudras. Neither miser nor pauper was to be seen

throughout the land,

not was

there ever a drought or flood. Indeed, the kingdom was

free of disease,

and

everyone enjoyed good health. The people rendered

loving devotional

service

to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vishnu, as

did the king,

who

also rendered special service to Lord Shiva. Moreover,

twice a month

everyone fasted on EkAdasii.

 

"In this way, O best of kings, the citizens of

VaidishA lived many long

years in great happiness and prosperity. Giving up all

varieties of

materialistic religion, they completely dedicated

themselves to the

loving

service of the Supreme Lord, Hari.

 

"Once, in the month of Phalguna (February - March),

the holy fast of

Amalakii EkAdasii arrived, conjoined with DvAdasi.

King Chitraratha

realised

that this particular fast would bestow especially

great benefit, and

thus he

and all the citizens of VaidishA observed this sacred

EkAdasii very

strictly, carefully following all the rules and

regulations.

 

"After bathing in the river, the king and all his

subjects went to the

temple of Lord Vishnu, where an Amalakii tree grew.

First the king and

his

leading sages offered the tree a pot filled with

water, as well as a

fine

canopy, shoes, gold, diamonds, rubies, pearls,

sapphires, and aromatic

incense. Then they worshiped Lord ParashurAma with

these prayers: 'Oh

Lord

ParashurAma, Oh son of RenukA, Oh all-pleasing one, Oh

liberator of the

worlds, kindly come beneath this holy Amalakii tree

and accept our

humble

obeisances.'

 

Then they prayed to the Amalakii tree: 'Oh Amalakii,

Oh offspring of

Lord

BrahmA, you can destroy all kinds of sinful reactions.

Please accept

our

respectful obeisances and these bumble gifts. O

Amalakii, you are

actually

the form of Brahman, and you were once worshiped by

Lord RAmachandra

Himself. Whoever circumambulates you is therefore

immediately freed of

all

his sins.'

 

"After offering these excellent prayers, King

Chitraratha and his

subjects

remained awake throughout the night, praying and

worshiping according

to the

regulations governing a sacred EkAdasii fast. It was

during this

auspicious

time of fasting and prayer that a very irreligious man

approached the

assembly, a man who maintained himself and his family

by killing

animals.

Burdened with both fatigue and sin, the hunter saw the

king and the

citizens

of VaidishA observing Amalakii EkAdasii by performing

an all-night

vigil,

fasting, and worshiping Lord Vishnu in the beautiful

forest setting,

which

was brilliantly illuminated by many lamps. The hunter

hid nearby,

wondering

what this extraordinary sight before him was.

 

'What is going on here?' he thought. What he saw in

that lovely forest

beneath the holy Amalakii tree was the Deity of Lord

DAmodara being

worshiped upon the Asana of a waterpot, and what he

heard were devotees

singing sacred songs describing Lord Krishna's

transcendental forms and

pastimes. Despite himself, that staunchly irreligious

killer of

innocent

birds and animals spent the entire night in great

amazement as he

watched

the EkAdasii celebration and listened to the

glorification of the Lord.

 

"Soon after sunrise, the king and his royal retinue -

including the

court

sages and all the citizens - completed their

observance of EkAdasii and

returned to the city of VaidishA. The hunter then

returned to his hut

and

happily ate his meal. In due time the hunter died, but

the merit he had

gained by fasting on Amalakii Ekadasii and hearing the

glorification of

the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, as well as by being

forced to stay

awake all

night, made him eligible to be reborn as a great king

endowed with may

chariots, elephants, horses, and soldiers. His name

was VasUratha, the

son

of King VidUratha, and he ruled over the kingdom of

Jayanti.

 

"King VasUratha was strong and fearless, as effulgent

as the Sun, and

as

handsome as the Moon. In strength he was like Sri

Vishnu, and in

forgiveness

like the Earth itself. Very charitable and every

truthful, King

VasUratha

always rendered loving devotional service to the

Supreme Lord, Sri

Vishnu.

He therefore became very well versed in Vedic

knowledge. Always active

in

the affairs of state, he enjoyed taking excellent care

of his subjects,

as

though they were his own children. He disliked pride

in anyone and

would

smash it when he saw it. He performed many kinds of

sacrifices, and he

always made certain that the needy in his kingdom

received enough

charity.

 

"One day, while hunting in the jungle, King VasUratha

strayed from the

footpath and lost his way. Wandering for some time and

eventually

growing

weary, he paused beneath a tree and, using his arms as

a pillow, fell

asleep. As he slept, some barbarian tribesmen came

upon him and,

remembering

their longstanding enmity toward the king, began

discussing among

themselves

various ways to kill him. 'It is because he killed our

fathers,

mothers,

brothers-in-law, grandsons, nephews, and uncles that

we are forced to

aimlessly wander like so many madmen in the forest.'

So saying, they

prepared to kill King VasUratha with various weapons,

including spears,

swords, arrows, and mystic ropes.

 

"But none of these deadly weapons could even touch the

sleeping king,

and

soon the uncivilised, dog-eating tribesmen grew

frightened. Their fear

sapped their strength, and before long they lost what

little

intelligence

they had and became almost unconscious with

bewilderment and weakness.

Suddenly a beautiful woman appeared from the king's

body, startling the

aborigines. Decorated with many ornaments, emitting a

wonderful

fragrance,

wearing an excellent garland around her neck, her

eyebrows drawn in a

mood

of fierce anger, and her fiery red eyes ablaze, she

looked like death

personified. With her blazing chakra discus she

quickly killed all the

tribal hunters, who had tried to slay the sleeping

king.

 

"Just then the king awoke, and seeing all the dead

tribesmen lying

around

him, he was astonished. He wondered, 'These are all

great enemies of

mine!

Who has slain them so violently? Who is my great

benefactor?'

 

"At that very moment he heard a voice from the sky:

'You ask who helped

you.

Well, who is that person who alone can help anyone is

distress? He is

none

other than Sri Keshava, the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, He who

saves all

who take shelter of Him without any selfish motive.'

 

"Upon hearing these words, King VasUratha became

over-whelmed with love

for

the Personality of Godhead Sri Keshava (Krishna). He

returned to his

capital

city and ruled there like a second lord Indra (king of

the heavenly

regions), without any obstacles at all.

 

"Therefore, Oh King Mandhata," the venerable Vasishtha

Muni concluded,

"...anyone who observes this holy Amalakii EkAdasii

will undoubtedly

attain

the supreme abode of Lord Vishnu, so great is the

religious merit

earned

from the observance of this most sacred fast day."

 

Thus ends the narration of the glories of

Phalguna-sukla Ekadasi, or

Amalaki

Ekadasi, from the Brahmanda Purana.

 

NOTE: If the Amarlaki tree isn't available then

worship the sacred

Tulasi

tree. Also plant the sacred Tulasi seeds, and offer

lamps to her.

 

 

 

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