Apara Ekadasi

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Apara Ekadasi

from Brahmanda Purana

 

Sri Yudhishthira Maharaj said, "Oh Janardana, what is the name of the

Ekadashi that occurs during the dark fortnight (krishna paksha) of the

month of Jyeshtha (May-June)? I wish to hear from You the glories of this

sacred day of Hari. Please narrate everything to me"

 

Lord Sri Krishna said, "Oh king, your inquiry is wonderful because the

answer will benefit the whole human society. This Ekadashi is so sublime

and meritorious that even the greatest sins can be erased by its purity.

"Oh great saintly king, the name of this unlimitedly meritorious Ekadashi

is Apara Ekadashi. Whoever fasts on this holy day becomes famous all over

the universe. Even such sins as killing a brahmana, a cow, or an embryo;

blasphemy; or having sex with another man's wife are completely eradicated

by observing Apara Ekadashi.

 

"Oh king people who bear false witness are most sinful. A person who

falsely or sarcastically glorifies another; one who cheats while weighing

something on a scale; one who fails to execute the duties of his varna or

ashrama (an unqualified man's posing as a brahmin, for example, or a

person's reciting the Vedas wrongly); one who invents his own scriptures;

one who cheats others; one who is a charlatan astrologer, a cheating

accountant, or a false Ayurvedic doctor. all these are surely as bad as

persons who bears false witness, and they are all destined for hellish

punishments. But simply by observing Apara Ekadashi, all such sinners

become completely free of their sinful reactions.

 

"Warriors who fall from their kshatriya-dharma and flee the battlefield go

to a ferocious hell. But, Oh Yudhishthira, even such a fallen kshatriya, if

he observes fasting on the Apara Ekadashi, is freed of that great sinful

reaction and goes to heaven.

 

"That disciple is the greatest sinner who, after receiving a proper

spiritual education from his spiritual master, turns around and blasphemes

him. Such a so-called disciple suffers unlimitedly. But even he, rascal

though he be, if he simply observes Apara Ekadashi, can attain to the

spiritual world. Listen, Oh king, as I describe to you further glories of

this amazing Ekadashi.

 

"The merit attained by one who performs all of the following acts of piety

is equal to the merit achieved by one who observes Apara Ekadashi: bathing

three times daily in Pushkara-kshetra during Kartika (October-November);

bathing at Prayag in the month of Magh (January-February) when the sun is

in the zodiac of Capricorn; rendering service to Lord Shiva at VarANasi

(Benares) during Shiva-ratri; offering oblations to one's forefathers at

Gaya; bathing in the sacred Gautami River when Jupiter transits Leo

(Simha); having darshan of Lord Shiva at Kedarnath; seeing Lord Badrinath

when the Sun transits the sign of Aquarius (Kumbha); and bathing at the

time of a solar eclipse at Kurukshetra and giving cows, elephants, and gold

there in charity. All the merit one gets from performing these pious acts

is gained by a person who observes the Apara Ekadashi fast. Also, the merit

attained by one who donates a pregnant cow, along with gold and fertile

land, is attained by one who fasts on this day.

 

"In other words, Apara Ekadashi is an axe that cuts down the fully matured

forest full of trees of sinful deeds, it is a forest fire that burns sins

as if they were kindling firewood, it is the sun blazing before one's dark

misdeeds, and it is a lion stalking the meek deer of impiety.

 

"Therefore, Oh Yudhishthira, whoever truly fears his past and present sins

must observe Apara Ekadashi very strictly. One who does not observe this

fast must be born again in the material world, like one bubble among

millions in a huge body of water, or like a small ant among all other

species.

 

"Therefore one must faithfully observe the sacred Apara Ekadashi and

worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Trivikrama. One who does so

is freed of all his sins and promoted to the abode of Lord Vishnu.

 

"Oh BhArata, for the benefit of all humanity I have thus described to you

this the importance of the holy Apara Ekadashi.

 

"Anyone who hears or reads this description is certainly freed from all

kinds of sins, oh best of saintly kings, Yudhishthira.

 

Thus ends the narration of the glories of Jyeshtha-krishna Ekadashi, or

Apara Ekadashi, from the Brahmanda Purana.

 

 

NOTES:

1. Pushkara-kshetra, in western India, is the only place on Earth where a

bonafide temple of Lord Brahma is to be found.

2. The Vedas declare, narah budbuda samah: "The human form of life is like

a bubble in water". In water, many bubbles form and then suddenly burst a

few seconds later. Thus if a person does not utilize his rare human body to

serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, his life has no more

value or permanence than a bubble in water. Therefore, as the Lord herein

recommends, we should serve Him by fasting on Hari-vasara, or Ekadashi.

In this regard, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada writes in the

Srimad Bhagavatam (SB 2:1:4 purport) "The great ocean of material nature is

tossing with the waves of time, and the so-called living conditioned are

something like foaming bubbles, which appear before us as bodily self,

wife, children, society, countrymen, etc. Due to a lack of knowledge of

self, we become victimized by the force of ignorance and thus spoil the

valuable energy of human life in a vain search after permanent living

conditions, which are impossible in this material world.