Online Articles:: Glories of
Ekadasi from Garga-Samhita
Narada Muni said, "O Maithila!
Please here the topics about the gopis, for such topics destroy
all one's sinful activities, award piety, fulfill all one's
desires, and are the source of all auspiciousness.
"In South India there is a country named Ushinara, where there
was no rainfall for ten years. The prosperous cowhered men of
this place became afraid of the severe drought and they left for
Vrajamandala along with their relatives and cows. O King! They
came and lived at the transcendental abode of Vrndavana near the
Yamuna under the guidance of Nanda Maharaja. By the benediction
of Ramacandra, many gopis took birth in their families. They
were all transcendentally beautiful and decorated with fresh
youth. O best of Kings! After seeing beautiful Krsna, these
gopis became enchanted, and in order to please Krsna, they
approached Sri Radha.
"The gopis said, O Radhe! O daughter of King Vrisabhanu! O
lotus-eyed one! Please instruct us about a vow by which we can
please Sri Krsna. The son of Nanda Maharaja, Krsna, who is
rarely attained even by the demigods, is under Your control. O
Radhe! You are the enchanter of the entire universe and are
expert in all the scriptures.'
Sri Radha said, 'You should observe Ekadasi in order to please
Sri Krisna. Then the Lord will certainly be controlled, there is
no doubt about it.' The gopis said, 'O Radhike! Please tell us
the names of all the Ekadasis that occur during a full year and
how one should observe Ekadasi.' Radha replied, 'Ekadasi first
appeared from the body of Lord Visnu during the waning moon in
the month of November/December in order to kill the demon Mura.
This exalted Ekadasi appeared every month in different forms.
For your benefit I am describing their names: Utapana, Moksada,
Saphala, Putrada, Sat-tila, Jaya, Vijaya, Amalaki, Papamochani,
Kamada, Varuthini, Mohini, Apara, Nirjala, Yogini, Devasayani,
Kamini, Pavitra, Aja, Padma, Indira, Pasankusa, Rama and
Prabodhini. Tehre are twenty-four Ekadasis that occur during one
complete year. Apart from them, there are two more Ekadasis,
namely Padmini and Parama, which occur during the extra month in
a leap year. Anyone who chants the names of these twenty-six
Ekadasis obtains the result of observing the vow of Dvadasi for
the entire year.
"O gopis of Vraja! Now hear about the rules and regulations for
observing Ekadasi. On the day before Ekadasi one should sleep on
the floor, eat only once, and control and control the senses. He
should also drink water only once and remain neat and clean. On
the day of Ekadasi one should rise early in the morning during
Brahma muhurta and offer obeisances to Lord Hari. To take bath
with well water is the lowest, to take bath in a pond is medium,
to take bath in a large pool is the highest, and to take bath in
a river is the best of all. A pious person should take bath in
this way and give up his anger and greed. One should not apply
oil on the day of Ekadasi. A person should give up associating
with low-class sinners and atheists on the day of Ekadasi. A
person who is observing the vow should carefully avoid the
association of those who speaks lies, who blaspheme the
brahmanas, who steal others' things, who enjoy the association
of other's wives, who are miscreants, and who do not show
respect to exalted personalities.
In this
regard one should also know the topics of the eight
Maha-Dvadasis. These topics are described in the Brahma-vaivarta
Purana in the conversation between Sri Suta Gosvami and Saunaka
Rsi.
Sri Suta Gosvami said, "O learned
brahmana! Unmilini, Vyanjuli, Trisprsa, Paksavardhini, Jaya,
Vijaya, Jayanthi and Papanasini are the eight Maha-dvadasis.
They are most auspicious and destory all one's sinful reactions.
Among these eight Maha- dvadasis, the first four occur according
to the tithi, or day, and the later four occur according to
naksatra, or star. Nevertheless all of them destroy heaps of
sinful reactions. The eight Maha-dvadasis are described as
follows:
If an Ekadasi extends on the day
of Dvadasi, but the day of Dvadasi does not extend then it is
called Unmilini Maha-davadasi. It destroys all one's sinful
reactions.
If an Ekadasi does not extend to the day of Dvadasi, but the day
of Dvadasi extends into the day of Trayodasi, then it is called
Vyanjuli Maha-dvadasi. It counteracts unlimited sins.
If an Ekadasi extends up to sunrise on the day of Dvadasi and
the Dvadasi extends up to the sunrise of Trayodasi, then it is
called Trisprsa Maha-dvadasi. This Maha-dvadasi is extremely
dear to Lord Hari. (But if the above-mentioned Ekadasi is
conjoined with Dasami then it will not be a Trisprsa
Maha-dvadasi)
If an Amavasya or Purnima extends then the Dvadasi which comes
prior to them is known as Paksavardhini Maha-dvadasi. Instead of
observing a fast on Ekadasi one should observe fast on that
Dvadasi
These above-mentioned four
Dvadasis are ascertained according to the conjunction of the
days.
It is stated in the Brahma Purana
in the conversation between sage Vasistha and King Mandata that
if the naksatra called Punarvasu touches the day of Dvadasi of
the waxing moon then it is called Jaya Maha-dvadasi. This
Maha-dvadasi is most auspicious among all the sins
It is written in Visnu-dharmottara that when Srvana-naksatra
conjoins with the Dvadasi of the waxing moon it is called Vijaya
Maha-dvadasi. Since Sri Vamanadeva appeared during
Srvana-naksatra this Maha-dvadasi is unlimitedly glorious.
Moreover, if such a Maha-davadsi occurs on a Wednesday in the
month of August, then its glories are indescribable. On that day
one should particularly discuss the topics of Sri Vamanadeva
If a Dvadasi of the waxing moon is conjoined with
Rohini-naksatra, then it is the all-auspicious Jayanti
Maha-dvadasi. It destroys all one's sinful reactions. Since Lord
Krsna appeared during Rohini-naksatra, this Jayanti Maha-dvadasi
is extremely glorious. On this day one should discuss the
pastimes of Lord Krsna's birth etc.
It is stated in the Brahma Purana that if a Dvadasi of the
waxing moon is conjoined with Pusya-naksatra, then it is called
Papanasini Maha-dvadasi. By observing a fast on this day, one
can obtain the result of observing one thousand Ekadasis. If
this Papanasini Maha-dvadasi occurs in the month of March, then
it awards unlimited piety
Although various results of
these vows are described in the scriptures, an intelligent pure
devotee should totally give up the desire for results that aim
at fulfilling their own sense gratification and aspire for pure
devotional service, which aims at gratifying Krsna's senses. He
should consider love of God as the supreme goal of life.
Whenever these eight Maha-dvadasis arrive, the pure devotees
should protect the prestige of Maha-dvadasi, even if they have
to give up the previous Ekadasi. By observing a Maha-dvadasi,
the observance of Ekadasi is automatically completed and Lord
Hari will also be greatly pleased.
On the day of Ekadasi one should worship Lord Kesava with
devotion and offer Him palatable foodstuffs, one should offer
lamps in the temple of the Lord. One should hear the glories of
the vow from the mouth of a brahmana and then give him
sufficient daksina. One should remain awake on the night of
Ekadasi whilte singing the trans- cendental glories of Krsna.
One should avoid eating in a bell metal plate, eating meat, pink
dal, any kind of intoxicant, spinach, honey, preboiled rice,
eating more than once and indulging in sex life on the day
before Ekadasi. On the day of Ekadasi one should give up
gambling, sleeping, eating betelnuts and pan, brushing teeth,
criticizing others, cheating, stealing, becoming envious
indulging in sex life, becoming angry and speaking lies. On the
day of Dvadasi one should not eat from a bell metal plate and
one should not eat urad dal, honey, oil and contaminated
foodstuff. One should strictly follow these rules and
regulations.'
The gopis said, "O greatly learned one! Please explain to us the
proper time for obesrving Ekadasi.'
"Sri Radha replied, 'If the tithi of Dasami consists of
fifty-five dandas then one should not fast on the next day,
rather he should fast on the day of Davadasi. If an Ekadasi is
conjoined by a fraction of a second with Dasami, then such an
Ekadasi shuld be rejected like a pot of Ganges water mixed with
a drop of wine. If an Ekadasi extends into the day of Dvadasi,
then one should fast on the day of Dvadasi. O damsels of Vraja,
by hearing the glories of Ekadasi one obtains the result of
performing a Vajpayee sacrifice. The result one obtains by
following a vow of a Dvadasi is equal to that of feeding 88,000
brahmanas. By observing the vow of Ekadasi one obtains one
thousand times more results then the result one obtains by
donating the entire earth with all the oceans and forests.
Observing the vow of Dvadasi is advised as the means of
deliverance for those who are absorbed in the ocean of material
existence which is filled with the entire of sinful activities.
If human beings observe Ekadasi by remaining awake on the night
of Ekadasi then even if they are very sinful they do not go to
the fearful abode of Yamaraja.
"A person who worships Lord Hari with devotion on the day of
Dvadasi by offering Him Tulasi leaves never becomes touched by
sin just as a lotus leaf remains untouched by water. The result
of performing one thousand horse sacrifices and one hundred
Rajasuya sacrifices is not even equal to the one sixteenth
portion of the result obtained by observing Ekadasi. By
observing Ekadasi a person delivers ten generations of his
mother's family, ten generation from his father's family and ten
generations from his wife's family. A cow may be a white or
black, but both are qualitatively the same because they both
give milk. Similarly the Ekadasis of both the waning moon and
waxing moon are the same in awarding piety.
"O gopis! An Ekadasi burns to ashes heaps of sinful reactions
that a person accumulates over one hunred lifetimes. The charity
given on the day of Dvadasi, though it may be less or more and
given with or without proper rules and regulations, awards
merits equal to that of a mountain. A person who hears the
topics of Hari on the day of Ekadasi obtains the result of
giving the entire earth, which consists of seven islands, in
charity. The piety one achieves by taking bath in the holy place
of Gaya and seeing the lotus feet of Lord Visnu is not even
equal to the one sixteenth portion of peity obtained by
observing Ekadasi. The merit one obtains by giving charity at
Prabhasa-ksetra, Kuru-ksetra, Kedarnatha, Badrikasrama, Kashi,
Sukara-ksetra, during the solar and lunar eclipse, as well as
giving charity during four hundred thousand Sankratis (when the
sun enters into a particular rasi) is not even equal to one
sixteenth portion of merit one obtains by fasting on Ekadasi.'
"Sri Radha continued, "O gopis! Just as Ananta is best among the
snakes, Garuda is best among the birds, Lord Visnu is best among
the demigods, the brahmana is best among the varnas, the banya
tree is the best among the trees and Tulasi is best among the
leaves, similarly the vow of Ekadasi is best among all the vows.
The result one obtains by performing austerities for ten
thousand years is obtained simply by observing the vow of a
Dvadasi. O damsels of Vraja! Such are the glories of the vow of
Ekadasi. All of you should immediately observe this vow.'
"The gopis said, 'O beautiful one! O daughter of King
Vrisabhanu! You are expert in all scriptures. Even the statement
of Brihaspati is baffled before Your statement. O Radhe! You are
directly the ocean of transcendental knowledge. Please describe
to us particularly the names of those who have previously
observed these Ekadasis.'
"Radha replied, 'O gopis! In order to regain their lost kingdom,
the demigods observed this sacred Ekdasi long, long ago. King
Vaishanta observed this Ekadasi in order to deliver his
forefather from the abode of Yamaraja. The sinful King Lumpaka,
who as rejected by his subjects, observed the vow of Ekadasi and
regained his lost kingdom. King Ketumana of Badravati, who had
no son, observed the vow of Ekadasi according to the instruction
of the learned brahmanas and was blessed with a son. Once the
wives of the demigods instructed the wife of one brahmana to
observe Ekadasi. Though that wife of the brahmana was an
ordinary human being, she achieved prosperity and heavenly
pleasure. Both Puspadanta and Malayavan became ghosts due to
being cursed by their enemies, but by observing the vow of
Ekadasi they regained their original forms as Gandharvas. In
ancient times in order to build a bridge on the ocean and to
kill Ravana, Ramacandra observed this Ekadasi. At the end of the
annihiliation, the demigods observed the vow of Ekadasi under an
amalaki tree for the benefit of the entire world.
"Sage Medhavi observed the vow of Ekadasi according to the
instruction of his father and became freed from the bad
association of the Apsrasas and thus became fully effulgent. A
Gandharva named Lalit became a demon by the curse of his wife,
but by observing the Ekadasi he regained his position as a
Gandharva. By observing this Ekadasi many great kings like
Mandata, Sagara, Kakutstha, Mucukunda, and Dhundhumara went back
to the spiritual world. By observing Ekadasi, Lord Siva became
freeed from the curse of Brahma. A son of a vaisya named
Dhrstabhuddhi returned to Vaikuntha by observing this Ekadasi.
King Rukmangada also observed the Ekadasi, and as a result he
enjoyed the whole world as his kingdom and at the end of his
life he returned to Vaikuntha with his subjects. King Ambarisa
also observed this Ekadasi and as a result even the inevitable
curse of Lord Brahma could not touch him. A Yaksha named Hema
Mail became afflicted by leprosy due to the curse of Kuvera, but
by observing the vow of Ekadasi he became as good as the moon.
By observing Ekadasi, King Mahijit was blessed with a son and at
the end of his life returned to Vaikuntha.
"In Satya Yuga there was a king named Shobhana, who became the
son-in-law of King Mucukunda. He observed Ekadasi and attained a
beautiful place among the demigods in Mandara Mountain. Even
today he is ruling his kingdom, just like Kuvera, with his wife,
Candrabhaga. O gopis! Know for certain that the vow of Ekadasi
is the highest of all. There is no tithi as auspicious as the
tithi of Ekadasi."
Narada Muni conclued, "After hearing this description from Sri
Radha the gopis properly observed the Ekadasi in order to attain
the favor of Krsna. As a result of their observing Ekadasi Lord
Hari became pleased with them and performed rasa dance with them
on the full moon night in the month of Agrahayana(November).
