Ekadasi Alert: Sat 5th Aug, 2006

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Pavitropana (Putrada) Ekadasi : Sat 5th Aug, 2006

Breakfast: 08:16 - 10:19 AM next day

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From the Bhavishya Purana.

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Shri Yudhisthira Maharaja said, “Oh Madhusudana, O killer of the Madhu

demon, please be merciful to me and describe to me the Ekadasi 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

Ekadasi one attains the merit of performing a horse sacrifice."

 

At the dawn of Dvapara-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

 

 

 

 

 

“The truth is my mother, knowledge is my

father, my occupational duty is my brother, kindness is my friend,

tranquillity 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 endeavour 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 Putrada Ekadasi 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 darshana. Thus we

humble ask that you tell us how our 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 Ekadasi 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

Ekadasi 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 Ekadasi. 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 Ekadasi 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 Ekadasi becomes completely

free of all sins, is blessed with a good son, and surely ascends to

heaven after death.”