Vijaya Ekadasi

[Guest guest]

Jay Gurudeva,

 

Ekadasis are ruled by Mars, so here is the glory of the ekadasi that brought

victory to Sri Rama.

 

Zavisa

 

 

 

 

Yudhisthira Maharaja said, " O Lord Sri Krishna, o glorious son of Vasudeva,

please be

merciful to me and describe the Ekadasi that occurs during the dark fortnight of

the month of

Phalguna(February-March). "

Lord Sri Krishna replied, " O Yudhisthira, o king of kings, gladly shall I tell

you about

this great fast, known as Vijaya Ekadasi. Whoever observes it certainly achieves

success both in

this life and the next. All the sins of one who fasts on this Ekadasi and hears

its sublime

glories are eradicated. "

" Narada Muni once asked Lord Brahma, who sits on a lotus, about Vijaya Ekadasi.

Narada

said, ¸'O best of demigods, kindly tell me the merit one can achieve by

faithfully observing

Vijaya Ekadasi.'

" Narada's great father replied, 'My dear son, this oldest of fasting days is

pure, and it

nullifies all sins. I have never revealed this to anyone until today, but you

can understand

beyond any doubt that this Ekadasi bestows the result indicated by its

name.(Vijay means victory)

" When Lord Rama was exiled to the forest for fourteen years, He, goddess Sita,

and His

divine brother Laksmana stayed at Pancavati as mendicants. Sita was kidnapped by

Ravana, and Rama

seemingly became bewildered by distress. While searching for His beloved

consort, the Lord came

upon the dying Jatayu and thereafter killed His enemy Kabandha. The great

devotee-vulture Jatayu

returned to Vaikuntha after telling Rama how His dear Sita ha been abducted by

Ravana. "

" Later, Rama and Sugriva, the king of the monkeys, became friends. Together

they amassed a

grand army of monkeys and bears and sent Hanumanji to Sri Lanka, where he was

able to see Janaki,

Sita-devi, in an asoka garden. He delivered Rama's message to Her and then

returned to Rama with

Her message to Him, thus rendering great service to the Supreme Lord. "

" With the help of Sugriva, Lord Rama proceeded toward Sri Lanka. Upon arriving

at the shore

of the ocean with the army of monkeys, He could understand that the water was

uncommonly deep.

Thus, He said to Laksmana, " O son of Sumitra, how can We earn enough merit to be

able to cross

this vast ocean, the unfathomable abode of Varuna? I can see no easy way to

cross it, teeming as

it is with sharks and other ferocious fish. "

" Laksmana replied, 'O best of all beings, O origin of all gods, O primal

personality, the

great sage Bakadalbhya lives on an island just four miles from here. O Raghava,

he has seen many

Brahmas come and go, so aged and wise is he. Let us ask him how We can safely

reach Our goal. "

" So Rama and Laksmana proceeded to the humble ashrama of the incomparable

Bakadalbhya Muni.

Approaching him, the two Lords paid Their respectful obeisances to him as if he

were a second

Visnu. Bakadalbhya could understand, however, that Rama was actually the Supreme

Personality of

Godhead, who for His own reasons had appeared on earth as a human being. "

" " O Rama, " said Bakadalbhya, " O best of human beings, why have you come to my

lowly abode? "

" The Lord replied, " O great, twice-born brahmana, I have come here to the ocean

shore with

My phalanx of monkeys and bears in order to cross the sea and conquer Lanka and

its demon horde.

O greatest of sages, please be merciful to Me and tell Me how I can cross this

vast ocean. This

is why I have come to you today. "

" The sage said, " O Lord Rama, I shall tell you of the most exalted of all

fasts, observing

which You will surely conquer Ravana and be eternally glorified. Kindely listen

with full

attention. "

" " On the day before Ekadasi, fashion a waterpot of gold or silver, or even

copper. Even

clay will do if these metals are unavailable. Fill the pot with pure water and

then decorate it

nicely with mango leaves. Cover it and place it near a holy altar upon a mound

of seven

grains(barley, wheat, rice, corn, chik-peas, kukani, and dal(or peas)). Now take

Your morning

bath, decorate the waterpot with flower garlands and sandalwood paste, and in

the concave lid

atop the pot place barley, pomegranate, and coconut. Now with great love and

devotion worship the

waterpot-Deity and offer Him incense, sandalwood paste, flowers, a ghee lamp,

and a plate of

sumptuous food. Remain awake that night beside this sacred pot. On top of the

lid filled with

barley, etc., place a golden murti of Lord Narayana. "

" " When ekadasi dawns, take your morning bath and then decorate the waterpot

with fine

sandalwood paste and garlands. Then worship the pot with first-class incense,

sandalwood paste

and and a ghee lamp, and also devotedly place many kinds of cooked food,

pomegranate, and

coconut before the waterpot. Then remain awake over night. "

" " When Dvadasi dawns, take the waterpot to the bank of a holy river, or even to

the shore

of a small pond. After worshiping it properly, O King of kings, offer it with

all the

aformentioned ingredients to a pure Brahmana expert in the Vedic science. If You

and Your

millitary commanders observe Vijaya Ekadasi in this way, You will surely be

victorious in every

way. "

" Lord Ramacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, did just as Bakadalbhya

Muni

instructed, and thus He conquered all demoniac forces. Similarly, anyone who

observes Vijaya

Ekadasi in this way will always be victorious in this mortal world, and after

leaving this world

he will reside forever in the kingdom of God. "

¸ " O Narada, my son, from this history you can understand why one should observe

this

EkadASI fast properly, strictly following the rules and regulations. This fast

is powerful enough

to eradicate all one's sinful reactions, even the most abominable ones. "

Sri Krishna concluded, " O Yudhisthira, anyone who reads or hears this history

will attain

the same great merit as that earned by performing a horse sacrifice. "

 

Thus ends the narration of the glories of Phalguna-krna Ekadasi, or Vijaya

Ekadasi, from the

Skanda Purana.

 

-from the book " Ekadasi, the day of Lord Hari " by Krsna Balaram Swami,

Bhaktivedanta institute,

1986