Padma Purana on the Appearance of Ekadashi

October 4, 2009

The

appearance of Sri Ekadasi and about her special characteristics. This

description from the fourteenth chapter of the Padma Purana, from the

section entitled " Kriya-sagara-sara " :Once the great sage

Jaimini Rishi said to his spiritual master Srila Vyasadeva, " Oh

Gurudeva! Previously, by your mercy, you described to me the history of

the glories of the Ganga river, the benefits of worshipping Vishnu, the

giving of grains in charity, the giving of water in charity, and the

magnanimity of drinking the water that has washed the feet of the brahmanas. O best of the sages, Sri Gurudeva, now, with great enthusiasm, I

desire to hear the benefits of fasting on Ekadasi and the appearance of Ekadasi. "

kasmad ekadasi jata tasyah ko va vidhir dvijakada va kriyate kim va phalam kim va vadasva meka va pujyatama tatra devata sad-gunarnava

akurvatah syat ko dosa etan me vaktum arhasi

" 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

worshipable presiding deity of Sri Ekadasi? 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

Vyasadeva, upon hearing this enquiry of Jaimini Rsi, became situated in

transcendental bliss. " Oh brahmana sage Jaimini! 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 within this world made of five gross

material elements. Simultaneously, for the purpose of punishing the

humans beings, He created a personality whose form was the embodiment

of sin (Papa Purusha). The different limbs of this personality were

constructed of the various sinful activities. His head head was made of

the sin of murdering a brahmana, 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 colour 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 Yamaraj and the different

hellish planetary systems. Those living entities who are very sinful

will be sent after death to Yamaraj, 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 of

Yamaraj, with the help of Garuda, the king of birds. When Yamaraj 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 Yamaraj, 'From where is this

loud crying coming?' " " Yamaraj 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 (actions).' " " 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 Vishnu 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.

etac canyac ca viprarsevicintya karunamayahbabhuva sahasa tatrasvayam ekadasi tithih

" 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 offerings. What boon is it that you want?' " The

Papa Purusha replied, 'I am your created 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 master! 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 takes place, then who will carry on Your activities? There

will be no one to enact the pastimes in the earthly planetary systems!

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 own manifested form, can impede

me. Out of fear of Sri Ekadasi I have fled and taken shelter of men;

animals; insects; hills; trees; moving and non-moving living entities;

rivers; oceans; forests; heavenly, earthly, and hellish planetary

systems; demigods; 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 (Papa Purusha) 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

Papa Purusha with laughter, began to speak thus: 'Oh Papa Purusha! 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

foodstuff 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 Papa Purusha, the Supreme Lord,

Vishnu, disappeared and the Papa Purusha 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

instructions of Lord Vishnu, every kind of sinful activity that can be

found in the material world takes its residence in this place of

foodstuff (grain) on this day. Whoever follows Ekadasi is freed from

all sins and never enters into hellish regions. If one doesn't follow

Ekadasi because of illusion, he is still considered the utmost sinner.

For every mouthful of grain that is eaten by a resident of the earthly

region, one receives the effect of killing millions of brahmanas. It is

definitely necessary that one give up eating grains on Ekadasi. I very

strongly say again and again, 'On Ekadasi, don't eat grains, don't eat

grains, don't eat grains!' Whether one be a ksatriya, vaisya, shudra,

or of any family, he should follow the lunar day of Ekadasi. From this

the perfection of varna and ashram will be attained. Especially since

even if one by trickery follows Ekadasi, all of his sins become

destroyed and he very easily attains the supreme goal, the abode of

Vaikuntha. " -- At the present moment our minds are polluted with the dirt accumulated over millions and millions of lifetimes of sense gratification. Even though our original pure nature is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss, due to our mental contamination we are presently suffering in the realm of temporality, ignorance, and misery. By the purificatory process of chanting the holy names of God we can revive our original, pure nature and thus relish the sweetest happiness at every minute.

Chant:Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare

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Padma Purana on the Appearance of Ekadashi.doc