Padmini Ekadasi - July 28, 2004

[Guest guest]

PadminI EkAdasii

from Skanda Puran

July 28, 2004

 

Sri SUta Goswami said, "Yudhishthira MahArAja said, Oh JanArdana, what

is

the name of the EkAdasii that occurs during the light fortnight (shukla

paksha) of the extra, leap year month? How does one observe it

properly?

Please narrate all this to me.'

 

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, replied, `Oh

PANDava,

the meritorious EkAdasii that occurs during the light fortnight of the

extra

month of leap-year is called PadminI. It is very auspicious. The

fortunate

soul who observes it with great determination and faith will return to

My

personal abode. This extra-month EkAdasii is as powerful as I am in

nullifying sins. Even four-headed Lord BrahmA cannot glorify it

sufficiently. Long ago Lord BrahmA told Narada about this liberating,

sin-removing EkAdasii.'

 

"Lotus-eyed Lord Krishna became very pleased by the enquiry of

Yudhishthira

and spoke to him the following pleasing words: 'Oh king, please listen

carefully as I narrate to you the process of fasting on PadminI

EkAdasii,

which is rarely done even by great sages.

 

"'One should begin his fast on the Dashami, the day before EkAdasii, by

not

eating any Urad dAhl, pink dAhl, chickpeas, spinach, honey, or sea

salt, and

also by not dining in homes of others or off bell-metal plates. These

eight

things should be avoided. One should eat only once on the Dashami,

sleep on

the ground, and remain celibate. On EkAdasii the devotee should rise

early

in the morning but should not brush his teeth. Then he should

thoroughly

bathe - in a place of pilgrimage, if possible. While chanting sacred

hymns

from the Vedas, he should smear his body with cow dung mixed with clay,

sesame-seed paste, kusha grass, and the powder of AmalakI fruits. Then

the

devotee should take another thorough bath, after which he should chant

the

following prayers: "'"Oh sacred clay, you have been created by Lord

BrahmA,

purified by Kashyapa Muni, and lifted by Lord Krishna in His form as

VarAha,

the boar incarnation. Oh clay, please purify my head, eyes, and other

limbs.

Oh clay, I offer my obeisances unto you. Kindly purify me so I may

worship

the Supreme Lord, Sri Hari. "'"Oh cow-dung, you posses medicinal and

antiseptic qualities because you have come directly from the stomach of

our

universal mother, the cow. You can purify the entire planet Earth.

Please

accept my humble obeisances and purify me. "'"Oh AmalakI fruits, please

accept my humble obeisances. You have taken your birth from the saliva

of

Lord BrahmA, and thus by your very presence the entire planet is

purified.

Kindly cleanse and purify my bodily limbs. "'"Oh Supreme Lord Vishnu,

Oh God

of the gods, Oh master of the universe, Oh holder of the conch, disc,

club,

and lotus, please allow me to bathe in all the holy places of

pilgrimage."

 

"'Reciting these excellent prayers, chanting mantras to Lord VaruNa,

and

meditating on all the places of pilgrimage located on the banks of the

Ganges, one should bathe in whatever body of water is at hand. Then, Oh

Yudhishthira, the devotee should rub his body, thus purifying his

mouth,

back, chest, arms, and waist as a prelude to worshipping the Supreme

Lord,

who wears brilliant yellow garments and gives pleasure to all

creatures. By

so doing, the devotee will destroy all his sins. Afterwards, he should

chant

the sacred Gayatri mantra, offer oblations to his forefathers, and then

enter a Vishnu temple to worship Lord NarAyaNa, the husband of the

Goddess

of Fortune, Laxmi-devi.

 

"'If possible, the devotee should then fashion Deities of Sri Sri Radha

and

Krishna or Shiva and Parvati out of gold and offer them nice devotional

worship. He should fill a copper or clay pot with pure water mixed with

scents, and then he should cover the pot with a cloth lid and a gold or

silver lid, in this way preparing an Asana upon which the Radha-Krishna

or

Shiva-Parvati murthis may sit for worship. According to capacity, the

devotee should then worship these murtis with fragrant incense, a

bright

ghee lamp, and sandalwood paste along with camphor, musk, kumkum, and

other

scents, as well as selected aromatic flowers like white lotuses and

other

seasonal blooms, and also very nicely prepared foods. On this special

EkAdasii the devotees should dance and sing ecstatically before the

Deity.

He should avoid prajalpa (talking unnecessarily of ordinary, mundane

conversational topics) at all costs and should not talk to or touch

low-born

persons (untrained persons habituated to low acts) or a woman in her

menstrual period, or others so absorbed. On this day he should be

especially

careful to speak the truth and certainly not criticize anyone before

the

Deity of Lord Vishnu, the brahmins, or the spiritual master. Rather,

with

other devotees he should be absorbed in listening to Vaishnavas read

the

glories of Lord Vishnu from the PurANas. One should not drink or even

touch

water to his lips on this EkAdasii, and one who is unable to perform

this

austerity should drink only water or milk. Otherwise, the fast is

considered

broken. One should remain awake that EkAdasii night, singing and

playing

musical instruments for the transcendental pleasure of the Supreme

Person.

 

"'During the first quarter of the EkAdasii night the devotee should

offer

some coconut meat to his worshippable Deity (Isthadeva), during the

second

part he should offer soothing bel fruit, during the third part an

orange,

and as the night draws to a close some betel nut. Remaining awake

during the

first part of the EkAdasii night bestows on the devotee/sadhaka the

same

merit as that gained by performing the Agnistoma-yajna. Staying awake

during

the second part of the night bestows the same merit as that gained by

performing a VAjapeya-yajna. Stay awake during the third part gives one

the

same merit as that attained by performing an Ashvamedha-yajna. And one

who

remains awake throughout the night receives all of the above mentioned

merit, as well as the grand merit of having performed a

RajasUrya-yajna.

Thus there is no better fasting day in the year than PadminI EkAdasii.

Nothing can compare to it as a giver of merit, whether it be a fire

sacrifice, knowledge, education, or austerity. Indeed, whoever observes

this

sacred EkAdasii fast receives all the merit attained by bathing in all

the

places of pilgrimage in the world.

 

"'After remaining awake throughout the night, the devotee should bathe

at

sunrise and then worship Me nicely. He should then feed a qualified

brahmin

and respectfully give him the Deity of Lord Keshava and the pot filled

with

pure scented water. This gift will guarantee the devotee success in

this

life and liberation in the hereafter.

 

"'Oh sinless Yudhishthira, as you have requested, I have described the

rules

and regulations, as well as the benefits, regarding the EkAdasii that

occurs

during the light fortnight of the extra, leap-year month. Fasting on

this

PadminI day bestows merit equal to that gained by fasting on all other

EkAdasiis. The EkAdasii that occurs during the dark part of the extra

month,

which is known as ParamA EkAdasii, is as powerful at removing sin as

this

one, PadminI. Now please listen to Me carefully as I narrate to you a

fascinating account connected with this sacred day. Pulastya Muni once

recited this history to NAradji.

 

"'Pulastya Muni once had occasion to rescue the ten headed demon RAvana

from

the prison of KartaviryArjuna, and upon hearing of this event Narada

Muni

asked his friend, "Oh greatest of sages, since this Ravana defeated all

the

demigods, including Lord Indradev, how could KartaviryArjuna defeat

Ravana,

who was so skilled in battle?"

 

"'Pulastya Muni replied, "Oh great Narada, during the TretAyuga,

KArtavirya

(KArtaviryArjuna's father) took birth in the Haihaya dynasty. His

capital

city was Mahishmati, and he had one thousand Queens, whom he loved very

dearly. None of them, however, was able to give him the son he wanted

so

badly. He performed sacrifices and worshipped the devas (demigods) and

forefathers (pitris), but due to the curse of some sage he was unable

to

beget a son - and without a son, a king cannot enjoy his kingdom, just

as a

hungry man can never really enjoy his senses.

 

"'"King KArtavirya carefully considered his plight and then decided to

perform severe austerities to achieve his goal. Thus he donned a

loincloth

made of bark, grew matted locks, and turned over the reins of his

kingdom to

his ministers. One of his queens, Padmini - who was born in the

IkshvAku

dynasty, who was the best of all women, and who was the daughter of

King

Harishchandra - saw the king leaving. She felt that, since she was a

chaste

wife, her duty was to follow in the footsteps of her beloved husband.

Removing all the regal ornaments from her beautiful body and donning

but one

piece of cloth, she thus followed her husband into the forest.

 

"'"At last KArtavirya reached the summit of Mount GandhamAdana, where

he

performed severe austerities and penances for ten thousand years,

meditating

and praying to Lord GadAdhara, who wields a club. But still he did not

get a

son. Seeing her dear husband waste away to mere skin and bone, Padmini

thought of a solution to the problem. She went to the chaste AnasUya.

With

great reverence, Padmini said, 'Oh great lady, my dear husband,

KArtavirya,

has been performing austerities for the last ten thousand years, but

Lord

Krishna (Keshava), who alone can remove one's past sins and present

difficulties, has not yet become pleased with him. Oh most fortunate

one,

please tell me a fast day we can observe and thus please the Supreme

Lord

with our devotion, so much so that He will bless me with a nice son who

will

later rule the world as emperor.'

 

"'"Upon hearing the appealing words of Padmini, who was very chaste and

deeply devoted to her husband, the great AnasUya replied to her in a

very

cheerful mood: 'Oh beautiful, lotus-eyed lady, usually there are twelve

months in a year, but after every thirty-two months an extra month is

added,

and the two EkAdasiis that occur during this month are called Padmini

EkAdasii and ParamA EkAdasii. They fall on the DvAdasiis of the light

and

dark part of the month, respectively. You should fast on these days and

remain awake throughout the night. If you do so, the Supreme

Personality of

Godhead, Sri Hari, will bless you with a son.'

 

"'"Oh Narada, in this way AnasUya, the daughter of the sage Kardama

Muni,

explained the potency of these special EkAdasis. Hearing this, Padmini

faithfully followed the instructions to fulfill her desire for a son.

Padmini fasted completely, even from water, and remained awake all

night,

chanting the glories of God and dancing in ecstasy. Lord Keshava thus

became

most pleased with her devotion and appeared before her, riding on the

back

of the great GaruDa. The Lord said, 'Oh beautiful one, you have greatly

pleased Me by fasting on the special EkAdasii of the extra month of

Purushottama. Please ask Me for a benediction.'

 

"'"Hearing these sublime words from the overseer of the entire

universe,

Padmini offered the Supreme Lord devotional prayers and asked Him for

the

boon her husband desired. Lord Keshava (Krishna) was moved to reply,

'Oh

gentle lady, I am very happy with you, for there is no month dearer to

Me

than this, and the EkAdasiis that occur during this month are the most

dear

to Me of all EkAdasiis. You have followed My devotee AnasUya's

instructions

perfectly, and therefore I shall do what will please you. You and your

husband will have the desired son that you wish.'

 

"'"The Lord, who removes the distress of the world, then spoke to King

KArtavirya: 'Oh King, please ask of Me any boon that will fulfill your

heart's desire, for your dear wife has pleased Me greatly with her

devotional fasting.'

 

"'"The king was very happy to hear this. Naturally he asked for the son

he

had desired for so long: 'Oh master of the universe, Oh killer of the

Madhu-demon, kindly grant me a son who will never be conquered by the

demigods, human beings, snakes, demons, or hobgoblins, but whom only

You can

defeat.' The Supreme Lord immediately replied, 'So be it!' and

disappeared.

 

"'"The king became so very pleased with his wife and returned to his

palace

in her company. Padmini soon became pregnant, and the mighty-armed

KArtaviryArjuna appeared as her son. He was the mightiest person in all

the

three worlds, and thus even the ten-headed RAvana could not defeat him

in

battle. Except for Lord NArAyaNa, who holds a club, a disc, and other

symbols in His hands no one could overcome him. By the merit that

resulted

from his mother's strict and faithful observance of PadminI EkAdasii,

he

could defeat even the dreaded RAvana. This is not at all surprising, Oh

NAradji, for KArtaviryArjuna was the fulfillment of the benediction of

the

Supreme Personality of Godhead." With these words, Pulastya Muni

departed.'

 

"The Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, concluded, 'Oh sinless Yudhishthira, as

you

have enquired from Me, I have explained to you the power of this

special

EkAdasii. Oh best of kings, whoever observes this fast will surely

attain to

My personal abode. And similarly, if you want all your desires

fulfilled,

you should do likewise.'

 

"Hearing these words from the mouth of his beloved Keshava, DharmarAja

(Yudhishthira) became filled with joy, and when the time came he

faithfully

observed PadminI EkAdasii."

 

SUta Goswami concluded, "Oh sage Saunaka, I have explained to you all

about

this meritorious EkAdasii. Anyone who devotedly fasts on the EkAdasiis

that

occur during the extra, leap-year months, carefully following all the

rules,

becomes glorious and happily goes back to Godhead. And one who merely

hears

or reads about these EkAdasiis will also obtain great merit and

ultimately

enter the abode of Lord Sri Hari.".

 

Thus ends the narration of the glories of PadminI EkAdasii, the

EkAdasii

that occurs during the light fortnight of the extra, leap-year month of

Purushottama, from the Skanda PurANa.