Putrada Ekadashi - Gain of Child - Fast on 24th Aug 07

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Pavitropana Ekadasi (Putrada Ekadashi)

from Bhavishya Puran

August 24, 2007

 

 

Shri Yudhisthira Maharaja said, " Oh Madhusudana, Oh 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 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 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 past, 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 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. "

 

Thus ends the narration of the glories of Shravana-sukla Ekadasi, or Putrada

Ekadasi, from the Bhavishya Purana.

 

 

 

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