Fwd: Pavitropana Ekadashi - Aug 8

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> Pavitropana Ekadashi - Aug 8

> Tue, 5 Aug 2003 21:46:04 -0700 (PDT)

 

>

 

> ------------

> PAvitropAna EkAdasii

> Story soruce: Bhavishya Puran

>

> August 8, 2003 (in Mumbai, India)

>

>

> Shri Yudhisthira Maharaja said, "Oh Madhusudana, Oh

> killer of the Madhu demon, please be merciful to me

> and describe to me the EkAdasii that occurs during

> the light fortnight of the month of Shravana

> (July-August)." The Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna,

> replied, "Yes, Oh king, I shall happily narrate its

> glories to you, for just by hearing about this

> sacred EkAdasii one attains the merit of performing

> a horse sacrifice.

>

> "At the dawn of DvArpara-yuga there lived a king by

> the name of Mahijita, who ruled the kingdom of

> Mahismati-puri. Because he had no son, his entire

> kingdom seemed utterly cheerless to him. A married

> man who has no son gains no happiness in this life

> or the next.

>

> The Sanskrit word for 'son' is putra. Pu is the name

> of a particular hell, and tra means 'to deliver.'

> Thus the word putra means 'a person who delivers one

> from the hell named Pu.' Therefore every married man

> should produce at least one son and train him

> properly; then the father will be delivered from a

> hellish condition of life. But this injunction does

> not apply to the serious devotees of Lord Vishnu or

> Krishna, for the Lord becomes their son, father, and

> mother.

>

> Furthermore, ChANakya Pandita says,

>

> satyam mata pita jnanam

> dharmo bhrata daya sakha

> santih patni ksama putrah

> sadete mama vandhavah

>

> "Truth is my mother, knowledge is my father, my

> occupational duty is my brother, kindness is my

> friend, tranquility is my wife, and forgiveness is

> my son. These six are my family members." Among the

> twenty-six leading qualities of a devotee of the

> Lord, forgiveness is the topmost. Therefore devotees

> should make an extra endeavor to develop this

> quality. Here ChANakya says "forgiveness is my son,"

> and thus a devotee of the Lord, even though he may

> be on the path of renunciation, may observe this

> EkAdasii and pray to attain this kind of "son."

>

> For a long time this king tried very hard to obtain

> an heir, but to no avail. Seeing his years advancing

> ever onwards, King Mahijita became increasingly

> anxious. One day he told an assembly of his

> advisers: 'I have committed no sin in this life, and

> there is no ill-gotten wealth in my treasury. I have

> never usurped the offerings to the demigods or

> brahmanas. When I waged war and conquered kingdoms,

> I followed the rules and regulations of the military

> art, and I have protected my subjects as if they

> were my own children. I punished even my own

> relatives if they broke the law, and if my enemy was

> gentle and religious I welcomed him. Oh twice-born

> souls, although I am a religious and faithful

> follower of the Vedic standards, still my home is

> without a son. Kindly tell me the reason for this.'

>

> "Hearing this, the king's brahmana advisers

> discussed the subject among themselves, and with the

> aim of benefiting the king they visited the various

> ashrams of the great sages. At last they came upon a

> sage who was austere, pure, and self-satisfied, and

> who was strictly observing a vow of fasting. His

> senses were completely under control, he had

> conquered his anger, and he was expert at performing

> his occupational duty. Indeed, this great sage was

> expert in all the conclusions of the Vedas, and he

> had extended his life span to that of Lord Brahma

> himself. His name was Lomasa Rishi, and he knew

> part, present, and future. After each kalpa passed,

> one hair would fall out of his body (One kalpa, or

> twelve hours of Lord Brahma, equals 4,320,000,000

> years.) All the king's brahmana advisers very

> happily approached him one by one to offer their

> humble respects.

>

> "Captivated by this great soul, King Mahijita's

> advisers offered obeisances to him and said very

> respectfully, 'Only because of our great good

> fortune, Oh sage, have we been allowed to see you.'

> "Lomasa Rishi saw them bowing down to him and

> replied, 'Kindly let me know why you have come here.

> Why are you praising me? I must do all I can to

> solve your problems, for sages like me have only one

> interest: to help others. Do not doubt this.'

>

> Lomasa Rishi had all good qualities because he was a

> devotee of the Lord. As stated in the

> Srimad-Bhagavatam (5:18:12),

>

> yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akinchana

> sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah

> harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna

> manorathenasati dhavato bahih

>

> "In one who has unflinching devotional service to

> Krishna, all the good qualities of Krishna and the

> demigods are consistently manifest. However, he who

> has no devotion to the Supreme Personality of

> Godhead has no good qualifications because he is

> engaged by mental concoction in material existence,

> which is the external feature of the Lord."

>

> "The king's representatives said, 'We have come to

> you, Oh exalted sage, to ask for your help in

> solving a very serious problem. Oh sage, you are

> like Lord Brahma. Indeed, there is no better sage in

> the entire world. Our king, Mahijita, is without a

> son, though he has sustained and protected us as if

> we were his sons. Seeing him so unhappy on account

> of being sonless, we have become very sad, Oh sage,

> and therefore we have entered the forest to perform

> severe austerities. By our good fortune we happened

> upon you. Everyone's desires and activities become

> successful just by your darshan. Thus we humbly ask

> that you tell us how our kind king can obtain a

> son.'

>

> "Hearing their sincere plea, Lomasa Rishi absorbed

> himself in deep meditation for a moment and at once

> understood the king's previous life. Then he said,

> 'Your ruler was a merchant in his past life, and

> feeling his wealth insufficient, he committed sinful

> deeds. He traveled to many villages to trade his

> goods. Once, at noon on the day after the EkAdasii

> that comes during the light fortnight of the month

> of Jyeshtha (Trivikrama – May-June), he became

> thirsty while traveling from place to place. He came

> upon a beautiful pond on the outskirts of a village,

> but just as he was about to drink at the pond a cow

> arrived there with her new-born calf. These two

> creatures were also very thirsty because of the

> heat, but when the cow and calf started to drink,

> the merchant rudely shoved them aside and selfishly

> slaked his own thirst. This offense against a cow

> and her calf has resulted in your king's being

> without a son now. But the good deeds he performed

> in his previous life have given

> him rulership over an undisturbed kingdom.'

>

> "Hearing this, the king's advisers replied, 'Oh

> renowned rishi, we have heard that the Vedas say one

> can nullify the effects of one's past sins by

> acquiring merit. Be so kind as to give us some

> instruction by which our king's sins can be

> destroyed; please give him your mercy so that a

> prince will take birth in his family.'

>

> "Lomasa Rishi said, 'There is an EkAdasii called

> PutradA, which comes during the light fortnight of

> the month of Shravana. On this day all of you,

> including your king, should fast and stay awake all

> night, strictly following the rules and regulations.

> Then you should give the king whatever merit you

> gain by this fast. If you follow these instructions

> of mine, he will surely be blessed with a fine son.'

>

>

> "All the king's advisers became very pleased to hear

> these words from Lomasa Rishi, and they all offered

> him their grateful obeisances. Then, their eyes

> bright with happiness, they returned home.

>

> "When the month of Shravana arrived, the king's

> advisers remembered the advice of Lomasa Rishi, and

> under their direction all the citizens of

> Mahismati-puri, as well as the king, fasted on

> EkAdasii. And on the next day, DvAdasi, the citizens

> dutifully offered their accrued merit to him. By the

> strength of all this merit, the queen became

> pregnant and eventually gave birth to a most

> beautiful son.

>

> "O Yudhisthira," Lord Krishna concluded, "the

> EkAdasii that comes during the light fortnight of

> the month of Shravana has thus rightfully become

> famous as PutradA ["bestower of a son"]. Whoever

> desires happiness in this world and the next should

> certainly fast from all grains and legumes on this

> holy day. Indeed, whoever simply hears the glories

> of PutradA EkAdasii becomes completely free of all

> sins, is blessed with a good son, and surely ascends

> to heaven after death."

>

> Thus ends the narration of the glories of

> Shravana-sukla EkAdasii, or PutradA EkAdasii, from

> the Bhavishya Purana.

> Hare Krishna!

>

> -- Did you chant Hare Krishna today? --

> Audio japa guide:

> http://www.acbspn.com/audio/index.htm

>

 

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