story of Ekadasi

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HARE KRISHNA

 

The story of Ekadasi

 

This description is from the fourteenth chapter of Padma Purana from

the section entitled " Kriya- sagara- sara "

 

 

Once the great sage Jaimini Rsi asked his spiritual master Srila

Vyasadeva " Oh Gurudeva ! When did Ekadasi take birth and from whom

did she appear ? What are the rules of fasting on Ekadasi? Please

describe the benefits of following this vow and when it should be

followed. Who is the utmost worship able presiding deity of Sri

Ekadashi ? What are the faults in not following Ekadasi properly?

Please bestow your mercy upon me and tell about these subjects, as

you are the only personality able to do so " .

 

 

Srila Vyasdeva upon hearing this enquiry of Jaimini Rsi became

situated in transcendental bliss. " Oh brahmana sage Jaimini Rsi !

The results of following Ekadasi can only be perfectly described by

the Supreme Lord, Narayana because Sri Narayana is the only

personality capable of describing them in full. But I will give a

very brief description in answer to your question.

 

" At the beginning of the material creation, the Supreme Lord created

the moving and non moving living entities with this world made of

five gross material elements. Simultaneously, for the purpose of

punishing the human beings, He created a personality whose form was

the embodiment of sin ( Papapurusha ). The different limbs of this

personality were constructed of the various sinful activities. His

head was made of sin of murdering a Brahman, his two eyes were the

form of the sin of drinking intoxicants, his mouth was made of the

sin of stealing gold, his ears were the form of the sin of having

illicit connection with the spiritual master's wife, his nose of the

sin of killing one's wife, his arms the form of the sin of killing a

cow, his neck made of the sin of stealing accumulated wealth , his

chest of the sin of abortion, his lower chest of the sin of having

sex with another's wife, his stomach of the sin of killing one's

relatives, his navel of the sin of killing those who are dependent

on him , his waist of the sin of self appraisal, his thighs of the

sin of offending the guru, his genital of the sin of selling one's

daughter, his buttocks of the sin of telling confidential matters,

his feet of the sin of killing one's father and his hair the form of

lesser less severe sinful activities . In this way a horrible

personality embodying all the sinful activities and vices was

created. His bodily color is black and his eyes are yellow. He

inflicts extreme misery upon sinful persons " .

 

" The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vishnu, upon seeing this

personality of sin, began to think to Himself as follows: " I am

the creator of the miseries and happiness for the living entities. I

am their master because I have created this personality of sin who

gives distress to all dishonest, deceitful and sinful persons. Now I

must create someone who will control this personality. ` At this

time Sri Bhagavan created the personality known as Yamraja and the

different hellish planetary systems. Those living entities who are

very sinful will be sent after death to Yamraj who will in turn

according to their sins send them to a hellish region to suffer.

 

" After these adjustments had been made, the Supreme Lord, who is

the giver of distress and happiness to the living entities went to

the house Yamraj , with the help of Garuda, the king of birds. When

Yamraj saw that Lord Vishnu had arrived, he immediately washed His

feet and made an offering unto Him. He then had Him sit upon a

golden throne. The Supreme Lord, Vishnu, became seated on the

throne, whereupon He heard very loud crying sounds coming from the

southern direction. He became surprised by this and thus enquired

from Yamraj. ` From where is this loud crying coming ?'

 

 

Yamraj in reply said " Oh Deva ! The different living entities of

the earthly planetary systems have fallen into the hellish regions.

They are suffering extremely for their misdeeds. The horrible crying

is because of suffering from the inflictions of their past bad karma.

 

After hearing this, the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, went to the hellish

region to the south. When the inhabitants saw who had come they

began to cry even louder. The heart of the Supreme Lord, Vishnu,

became filled with compassion. Lord Vsihnu thought to Himself " I

have created all this progeny, and it is because of Me that they

are suffering'.

 

 

Srila Vyasadeva continued: " Oh Jaimini, just listen to what the

Supreme Lord did next.

 

" After the merciful Supreme Lord thought over what He had

previously considered, He suddenly manifested from His own form the

deity of the lunar day Ekadasi'. Afterwards the different sinful

living entities began to follow the vow of Ekadasi and were then

elevated quickly to the abode of Vaikuntha. Oh my child Jaimini,

therefore the lunar day of Ekadasi is the selfsame form of the

Supreme Lord, Vishnu, and the Supersoul within the heart of the

living entities. Sri Ekadasi is the utmost pious activity and is

situated as the head among all vows.

 

Following the ascension of Sri Ekadasi that personality who is the

form of the sinful activity gradually saw the influence she had. He

approached Lord Vishnu with doubts in his heart and began offering

many prayers, whereupon Lord Vishnu became very pleased and said, `

I have become very pleased by your nice offering. What boon is it

that you want?'

 

Papapurusha replied , ` I am your creator progeny, and it is through

me that you wanted distress given to the living entities who are

very sinful. But now, by the influence of Sri Ekadasi, I have become

all but destroyed. Oh Prabhu ! After I die all of your parts and

parcels who have accepted material bodies will become liberated and

therefore return to the abode of Vaikuntha. If this liberation of

all living entities take place, then who will carry on Your

activities? There will be no one to enact the pastimes in the

earthly planetary system! Oh Keshava ! if You want these eternal

pastimes to carry on, then You please save me from the fear of

Ekadasi. No type of pious activity can bind me. But Ekadasi only,

being Your manifested form, can impede me. Out of fear of Sri

Ekadasi ! I have fled and taken shelter of men, animals, insects,

hills, tress, moving and non moving living entities, rivers, oceans,

forests, heavenly, earthly and hellish planetary systems, the devas

and the Gandarvas. I cannot find a place where I can be free from

fear of Sri Ekadasi. Oh my Master! I am a product of Your creation,

so therefore very mercifully direct me to a place where I can reside

fearlessly.

 

 

Srila Vyasadeva then said to Jaimini, " After saying this, the

embodiment of all sinful activities ( Papapurusha ) fell down at

the feet of the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, who is the destroyer of all

miseries and began to cry.

 

" After this, Lord Vishnu, observing the condition of the

Papapurursha with laughter, bagan to speak thus: " Oh Papapurusha !

Rise up ! Don't lament any longer. Just listen and I'll tell you

where you can stay on the auspicious lunar day of Ekadasi. On the

day of Ekadasi which is the benefactor of the three worlds, you can

take shelter of foodstuffs in the form of grains. There is no reason

to worry about this any more, because My form as Sri Ekadasi Devi

will no longer impede you. ` After giving direction to the

Papapurusha, the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, disappeared and the

Papapurusha returned to the performance of his own activities.

 

" Therefore those persons who are serious about the ultimate benefit

for the soul will never eat grains on the Ekadasi tithi. According

to the instruction of Lord Vishnu, every kind of sinful activity

that can be found in the material world takes its residence in this

place of foodstuff (grains). Whoever follows Ekadasi is freed from

all sins and never enters into hellish regions.

 

So on Ekadasi, don't eat grains, don't eat grains , don't eat

grains ..

 

What Constitutes " Grains " on Ekadasi

 

Food grains like wheat, rice and beans (pulses) must be avoided.

Mustard seeds, asafateoda, sesame seeds are also to be avoided. Do

not use any cooking ingredients that might be mixed with grains,

such as ghee that has been used to fry puris or spices touched by

hands dusted with chapatti flour. Avoid corn oil or any other

vegetable oil on this day . Coconut oil and ghee can be

used .Fruits, dry fruits, milk and milk products like paneer can be

taken on this day .Someone who is strictly observing Ekadasi should

avoid all spices except pepper, rock salt and cumin. Sabu dana can

also be taken on this day .

 

 

 

Hare Krishna

 

Padma