The glories of Vijaya Ekadasi which occurs The glories of this Ekadasi are described in the Skanda Purana. Once Maharaja Yudhisthira inquired from Sri Krsna, “O Lord Krsna, please be kind to me and describe the Ekadasi that occurs during the waning moon in the month of February/March.”

Lord Krsna replied, “O King Yudhisthira! I will happily describe the Ekadasi know as Vijaya Ekadasi to you. By observing the vow of this Ekadasi all of one’s sinful reactions are simultaneously eradicated.

“Once the great sage Narada asked Lord Brahma, ‘O best of the demigods! Kindly describe to me the result one achieves by following the vow of Vijaya Ekadasi which occurs during the waning moon in the month of February/March.’ In reply to this, Lord Brahma said, ‘My dear son, this oldest vow is pure and is the destroyer of all sinful activities. Actually it gives great results, as its name suggests. This Vijaya Ekadasi undoubtedly awards one the power of victory. When Sri Ramacandra went to the forest for fourteen years with His wife SitaDevi and brother Laksmana in order to fulfill the order of His father, They lived in a beautiful forest known as Panchavati on the bank of river Godavari for some time. While residing in this forest, one day Ravana, the King of demons, kidnapped austere Sitadevi.

Due to separation from Sitadevi, Ramacandra became overwhelmed with extreme distress. While wandering throughout the forest in search of Sita, Ramacandra met with Jatayu, the King of the birds, who was about to die. Jatayu told Ramacandra everything about Sita and then left this world returning to Vaikuntha. Thereafter Ramacandra made friendship with Sugriva. Many monkey soldiers were gathered to help the mission of Ramacandra. Meanwhile Hanuman, the King of the monkeys, completed a great mission by going to the Ashoka forest in Lanka, meeting Sitadevi, and convincing Her by giving Ramacandra’s ring to Her. Thereafter Hanuman returned to Ramacandra and explained the whole incident to Him.

After hearing the words of Hanuman, Ramacandra had a meeting with His friend Sugriva and resolved to invade Lanka. Ramacandra gathered a great number of monkey soldiers and arrived at the shore of the ocean. He then said to Laksmana, ‘O Saumirta! How will We cross beyond this unfathomable ocean which is full of fierce aquatics such as whales and crocodiles?’ Laksmana replied, ‘O original Supreme Personality of Godhead! You are the primeval Lord. There is a great sage named Bakadalbhya who lives in this island. His asrama is situated four miles away from here. O son of the dynasty of Raghu! This sage has had darsana of Lord Brahma. We should ask him about the means of crossing this ocean.’

Being advised by Laksmana in this way, Lord Ramacandra went to the asrama of Bkadlabhya and offered respectful obeisances to him. The omniscient sage could immediately understand that this personality was the Supreme Lord Ramacandra and He has now appeared in this material world. The great sage asked him, ‘O Ramacandra, for what purpose You have kindly come here? Ramacandra replied, ‘O brahmana! By your mercy I have come here on the shore of this ocean with my soldiers in order to fight the demons and conquer Lanka. O best of the sages! Please tell me a simple method by which I can easily cross over this insurmountable ocean. Only for this reason I have come to your lotus feet.’

“The great sage said to Ramacandra, ‘O Ramacandra! I will tell You about observing a great vow by which You will certainly conquer Your battle and obtain extraordinary fame and opulence in this world. However, You should follow this vow with undeviated attention. O Rama! There is an Ekadasi known as Vijaya which occurs during the waning moon in the month of February/March. By observing this Ekadasi You will certainly be able to cross over this ocean with Your monkey soldiers. O Lord Ramacandra! Now please hear about the procedure for following this Ekadasi. On the day before Ekadasi You should fill either a golden, silver, copper or clay pitcher with water and decorate it with mango twigs. Then You should place this pitcher on a sanctified raised altar which is decorated with seven kinds of grains. Then You should place a golden deity or Lord Narayana upon this pitcher.

On the day of Ekadasi You should take batch early in the morning and worship this deity of Lord Narayana with devotion by offering various items such as Tulasi leaves, sandalwood paste, flowers, garlands, incense, a ghee lamp and foodstuff. You should also remain awake that night. On the day after Ekadasi You should place this pitcher on the bank of a river, pond or lake after the sunrise and duly worship it. Thereafter You should donate this pitcher, along with the deity of Narayana, to a brahmana who strictly follows the vow of celibacy. By doing so you will certainly conquer over Your enemies.’

“According to the instruction of this great sage, Lord Ramacandra exhibited the ideal example of properly following this vow of Ekadasi, and consequently He was victorious. A person who properly follows this vow of Ekadasi certainly becomes victorious in this life and in the next.

Lord Brahma continued to speak to Narada, ‘O my dear son! Therefore every human being should follow the vow of Vijaya Ekadasi. The glories of Vijaya Ekadasi destroys all one’s sinful reactions.

“One who reads or hears the glories of this Ekadasi obtains the result of a Vajapayee sacrifice.”