The Glories of Yogini Ekadasi

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THE GLORIES OF YOGINI EKADASI

 

Yudhisthira Maharaj said, "Oh Supreme Lord, I have heard the glories of the

NirjalA EkAdasii, which occurs during the light fortnight of the month of

Jyeshtha (May - June). Now I wish to hear from You about the suddha EkAdasii

that occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of AshADha (June - July).

Kindly describe to me all about it in detail, Oh killer of the Madhu demon

(Madhusudana)."

 

The Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, then replied, "Oh king, I shall indeed tell

you about the best of all fasting days, the EkAdasii that comes during the

dark part of the month of AshADha. Famous as Yogini EkAdasii, it removes all

kinds of sinful reactions and awards supreme liberation.

 

"Oh best of kings, this EkAdasii delivers people who are drowning in the

vast ocean of material existence and transports them to the shore of the

spiritual world. In all the three worlds, it is the chief of all sacred

fasting days. I shall now reveal this truth to you by narrating a history

recounted in the PurANas.

 

"The king of AlakApuri - Kuvera, the treasurer of the devas (demigods) - was

a steadfast devotee of lord Shiva. He employed a servant named HemamAli as

his personal gardener. HemamAli, a Yaksha like Kuvera, was very lustfully

attracted to his gorgeous wife, SwarUpavatii, who had large, enchanting

eyes.

 

"HemamAli's daily duty was to visit MAnasarovara Lake and bring back flowers

for his master, Kuvera, with which he would use them in the puja offerings

to lord Shiva. One day, after picking the flowers, HemamAli went to his wife

instead of returning directly to his master and fulfilling his duty by

bringing the flowers for the puja. Absorbed in loving affairs of a bodily

nature with his wife, he forgot to return to the abode of Kuvera.

 

"Oh king, while HemamAli was enjoying with his wife, Kuvera had begun the

worship of lord Shiva as normal in his palace and soon discovered that there

were no flowers ready to be offered in the midday pUjA. The lack of such an

important item (upachara) angered the great Koshad-yaksha (treasurer of the

devas) even more, and he asked a Yaksha messenger, 'Why has dirty-hearted

HemamAli not come with the daily offering of flowers? Go find out the exact

reason and report back to me in person with your findings.' The Yaksha

returned and told Kuvera, 'Oh dear lord, HemamAli has become lost in freely

enjoying coitus with his wife.'

 

"Kuvera became extremely angry when he heard this and at once summoned lowly

HemamAli before him. Knowing that he had been remiss and dawdling in his

duty and exposed as meditating on his wife's body, HemamAli approached his

master in great fear. The gardener first paid his obeisances and then stood

before his lord, whose eyes had become red with anger and whose lips

trembled in rage. So enraged, Kuvera cried out to HemamAli, 'Oh you sinful

rascal! Oh destroyer of religious principles! You are a walking offense to

the devas! I therefore curse you to suffer from white leprosy and to become

separated from your beloved wife! Only great suffering is deservedly yours!

Oh lowborn fool, leave this place immediately and betake yourself to the

lower planets to suffer!'

 

"And so HemamAli fell at once from grace in AlakApuri and became ill with

the terrible affliction of white leprosy. He awoke in a dense and fearful

forest, where there was nothing to eat or drink. Thus he passed his days in

misery, unable to sleep at night due to pain. He suffered in both winter and

summer season, but because he continued to worship lord Shiva himself with

faith, his consciousness remained purely fixed and steady. Although

implicated by great sin and its attendant reactions, he remembered his past

life because of his piety.

 

"After wandering for some time here and there, over mountains and across

plains, HemamAli eventually came upon the vast expanse of the HimAlayan

mountain ranges. There he had the wonderful good fortune to come in contact

with the great saintly soul MarkanNDeya Rishi, the best of ascetics, whose

duration of life it is said, extends to seven of the days of BrahmA.

 

"MarkaNDeya Rishi was seated peacefully at his Ashrama, looking as effulgent

as a second BrahmA. HemamAli, feeling very sinful, stood at a distance from

the magnificent sage and offered his humble obeisances and choice prayers.

Always interested in the welfare of others, MarkaNDeya Rishi saw the leper

and called him near, "Oh you, what sort of sinful deeds have you done to

earn this dreadful affliction?'

 

"Hearing this, HemamAli painfully and ashamed replied, 'Dear sir, I am a

Yaksha servant of lord Kuvera, and my name is HemamAli. It was my daily

service to pick the flowers from the MAnasarovara lake for my master's

worship of lord Shiva, but one day I was negligent and was late in returning

with the offering because I had become overwhelmed with lusty passion for

enjoying bodily pleasures with my wife. When my master discovered why I was

late, he cursed me in great anger to be as I am before you. Thus I am now

bereft of my home, my wife, and my service. But fortunately I have come upon

you, and now I hope to receive from you an auspicious benediction, for I

know that devotees such as you are as merciful as the Supreme Lord (Bhakta

Vatsala) and always carry the interest of others uppermost in their hearts.

That is their - your nature. Oh best of sages, please help me!'

 

"Softhearted MarkaNDeya Rishi replied, 'Because you have told me the truth,

I shall tell you about a fast day that will benefit you greatly. If you fast

on the EkAdasii that comes during the dark fortnight of the month of

AshADha, you will surely be freed of this terrible curse.'

 

HemamAli fell to the ground in complete gratitude and offered him his humble

obeisances again and again. But MarkaNDeya Rishi stood there and lifted poor

HemamAli to his feet, filling him with inexpressible happiness.

 

"Thus, as the sage had instructed him, HemamAli dutifully observed the

EkAdasii fast, and by its influence he again became a handsome Yaksha. Then

he returned home, where he lived very happily with his wife."

 

Lord Sri Krishna concluded, "So, you can readily see, Oh Yudhishthira that

fasting on Yogini EkAdasii is very powerful and auspicious. Whatever merit

one obtains by feeding eighty-eight thousand brahmins is also obtained

simply by observing a strict fast on Yogini EkAdasii. For one who fasts on

this sacred EkAdasii, she (EkAdasii Devi), destroys heaps of past sinful

reactions and makes him most pious. Oh King, thus I have explained to you

the purity of Yogini EkAdasii."

 

Thus ends the narration of the glories of AshADha-krishna EkAdasii, or

Yogini EkAdasii, from the Brahma