Ekādaśī Vratas

Ekādaśī is the eleventh tithi (day of the lunar calendar) of each fortnight, and it is the most auspicious day in the Vaishṇava calendar. A vrata is a sacred vow, and on Ekādaśī devotees of Vishṇu fast and pray. The day is ruled by Ekādaśī Devī, a maiden who came out of Bhagavān Vishṇu’s sleeping body and killed the asura Mura with her humkāra (a mighty sound of “hum”). She received the boon that all who fast on her day would be freed from every pāpa (wrong deed and its effect).

There are twenty-four Ekādaśīs in an ordinary year, two in each lunar month, and one more in the extra month (adhika-māsa) that is added to the calendar from time to time. Each Ekādaśī has its own name and its own spiritual fruit, and most have a story told by Bhagavān Kṛshṇa to King Yudhishṭhira. The Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa gives the most orderly account of the Ekādaśī vratas, covering twenty-five Ekādaśīs in Chapters 38 to 63. The first set of twelve runs from Mokshadā to Aparā. Thirteen more follow: Nirjalā, Yoginī, Devaśayanī, Kāmikā, Putradā, Ajā, Padmā, Indirā, Pāpāṅkuśā, Ramā, Prabodhinī (Haribodhinī), Kamalā (of the extra month, called Purushottama), and Kāmadā. For each, the text gives its origin, a teaching story, and its particular merits and rules.

How Ekādaśī Began

Ekādaśī as a day of observance began when Ekādaśī Devī, the maiden born from Vishṇu’s own sleeping body, killed the asura Mura with her humkāra. She then asked Vishṇu for a boon: that those who fast on the eleventh tithi be freed from all pāpa. Vishṇu granted it, and the eleventh tithi became the most powerful day in the Vaishṇava calendar for removing pāpa and gaining moksha (liberation).

The Setting: Kṛshṇa Teaches Yudhishṭhira

The teaching on Ekādaśī in the Uttara Khaṇḍa is set as Bhagavān Kṛshṇa’s direct instruction to Yudhishṭhira. Yudhishṭhira asks Kṛshṇa to explain each Ekādaśī in turn: its name, how to keep it, and what fruit it brings. Kṛshṇa answers with a story for each one. Because of this setting, the whole teaching carries the authority of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa’s own words.

The First Twelve Ekādaśīs (Chapters 39–50)

In the headings below, śukla means the bright fortnight, when the moon is growing, and kṛshṇa means the dark fortnight, when the moon is waning.

1. Mokshadā Ekādaśī: Mārgaśīrsha Śukla (Chapter 39)

The “giver of liberation”. A king named Vaikhānasa learned that his ancestors were suffering in naraka because of their past pāpa. He kept this Ekādaśī and passed its merit on to them, and they were set free.

2. Saphalā Ekādaśī: Pausha Kṛshṇa (Chapter 40)

The “fruitful” or “successful” Ekādaśī. A prince named Lumpaka was banished for his bad conduct and wandered in the forest. On the night of Saphalā Ekādaśī he happened to stay awake near a sacred image of Bhagavān Vishṇu, unable to sleep because of cold and fear, and so he kept the vrata without meaning to. The merit of this accidental observance purified him, and he was given back his royal position.

3. Putradā Ekādaśī: Pausha Śukla (Chapter 41)

The “giver of a son”. A king named Suketumat had no children and was deeply unhappy. He and his wife kept the Putradā Ekādaśī, and as a result a son was born to them.

4. Shaṭtilā Ekādaśī: Māgha Kṛshṇa (Chapter 42)

The “six-sesame” Ekādaśī, named for the six ways sesame (tila) is used on this day: bathing in sesame water, rubbing on sesame paste, offering sesame into the fire, eating sesame, giving sesame away, and offering pūjā with sesame. This Ekādaśī is linked especially with removing pāpa connected with food and giving.

5. Jayā Ekādaśī: Māgha Śukla (Chapter 43)

The “victorious” Ekādaśī. A gandharva (celestial musician) couple, Mālyavat and Pushpadantī, were found in intimate union at an improper time during a festival. They were cursed to become a piśāca and piśācī (flesh-eating spirits). They were freed from the curse by keeping the Jayā Ekādaśī.

6. Vijayā Ekādaśī: Phālguna Kṛshṇa (Chapter 44)

The “giver of victory”. Bhagavān Rāma himself kept this Ekādaśī on the advice of the ṛshi Bakadālbhya (Baka-Dālbhya) before crossing the ocean to Laṅkā. The ṛshi told Rāma that keeping it would ensure victory in his war against Rāvaṇa. Rāma and his whole army kept it.

7. Āmalakī Ekādaśī: Phālguna Śukla (Chapter 45)

The Ekādaśī of the sacred āmalakī tree (Indian gooseberry, Phyllanthus emblica). The āmalakī tree was born from Brahmā’s own tears of joy in the earliest ages and holds all the devas within it. Offering pūjā to the āmalakī tree on this day is equal to worshipping all divine beings.

8. Pāpamocanī Ekādaśī: Caitra Kṛshṇa (Chapter 46)

The Ekādaśī that “frees from pāpa”. The ṛshi Medhāvin lost the power of his tapas (austerity) through fifty-seven years of pleasure with the apsarā (celestial dancer) Mañjughoshā. In anger he cursed her to become a piśācī. He then taught her the Pāpamocanī Ekādaśī as the way out of the curse, and keeping it set her free.

9. Kāmadā Ekādaśī: Caitra Śukla (Chapter 47)

The “fulfiller of wishes”. Lalitā, the wife of a gandharva named Lalita, saw her husband drunk in another woman’s company during a festival, and she collapsed in grief. Her husband was then cursed by the devas to become a rākshasa. Lalitā kept the Kāmadā Ekādaśī, and the merit she passed on to her husband freed him from the curse.

10. Varūthinī Ekādaśī: Vaiśākha Kṛshṇa (Chapter 48)

The “protecting” or “armoured” Ekādaśī. Its teaching is that fasting and keeping vigil on this day give spiritual protection equal to great acts of charity and tapas. The merit of keeping Varūthinī equals giving away elephants, horses and land, and it removes pāpa gathered over many births.

11. Mohinī Ekādaśī: Vaiśākha Śukla (Chapter 49)

The “enchanting” Ekādaśī. A merchant named Dhṛshṭabuddhi had wasted his wealth on immoral living and fallen into poverty. He went to the ṛshi Kauṇḍinya, who told him to keep the Mohinī Ekādaśī. Keeping it cleansed him of his gathered pāpa, restored his prosperity and in the end brought him moksha.

12. Aparā Ekādaśī: Jyeshṭha Kṛshṇa (Chapter 50)

The “boundless” Ekādaśī, named for its boundless power to remove pāpa. Keeping this Ekādaśī destroys pāpa as grave as killing a brāhmaṇa or an unborn child, and other serious offences. It is presented as the most powerful purifying observance open to a human being.

Thirteen More Ekādaśīs (Chapters 51–63)

Kṛshṇa’s teaching to Yudhishṭhira continues through Chapters 51 to 62, covering thirteen more Ekādaśīs. Chapter 63 gives general rules, in the form of the Kāmadā vow, that apply to all Ekādaśīs.

13. Nirjalā Ekādaśī: Jyeshṭha Śukla (Chapter 51)

The “waterless” Ekādaśī, the hardest and the most meritorious. Bhīmasena, who could not bear hunger, went to the ṛshi Vyāsa and asked whether there was a single observance that would count for all twenty-four Ekādaśīs. Vyāsa told him to keep the Ekādaśī of the bright half of Jyeshṭha without taking even water. The merit of this one Nirjalā fast equals the combined merit of all twenty-four Ekādaśīs in a year. Bhīma kept it, and since then this Ekādaśī has also been called Pāṇḍava Dvādaśī in his honour.

14. Yoginī Ekādaśī: Āshāḍha Kṛshṇa (Chapter 52)

The “yoginī” Ekādaśī, which cures all diseases. The yaksha (nature-spirit) Hemamālin worked for Kubera, gathering flowers for Śiva-pūjā. He was distracted by pleasure with his wife Viśālākshī and neglected his sacred duty, so Kubera cursed him with all eighteen kinds of leprosy. Hemamālin wandered in suffering until the ṛshi Śāṇḍilya guided him to the Himālaya. There he reached the ṛshi Mārkaṇḍeya, who told him to keep the Yoginī Ekādaśī. By keeping the fast, Hemamālin was fully healed and reunited with his wife. The merit of this observance is said to equal feeding eighty-eight thousand brāhmaṇas.

15. Devaśayanī (Śayanī) Ekādaśī: Āshāḍha Śukla (Chapter 53)

The “sleeping” Ekādaśī, the day Vishṇu goes to sleep lying on Śesha, the great serpent, in the ocean. It marks the start of Cāturmāsya, the holy four-month period. On this day one form of Vishṇu goes down to live with King Bali in the lower world (after the events of the Vāmana avatāra), while another form lies on Śesha until the Prabodhinī Ekādaśī in Kārtika.

From this day until Prabodhinī, householders should keep special Cāturmāsya restraints:

Keeping vigil on this night and offering pūjā to Vishṇu brings merit that even Brahmā cannot measure.

16. Kāmikā Ekādaśī: Śrāvaṇa Kṛshṇa (Chapter 54)

The Ekādaśī “connected with desire”. Brahmā told Nārada of its greatness. Offering pūjā to Vishṇu on this day brings more merit than bathing at the Gaṅgā, Kāśī, Naimisha or Pushkara. Special stress is placed on offering tulasī (holy basil) leaves: all pāpa gathered since birth perishes for one who worships Vishṇu with tender tulasī shoots on this day. One who keeps a lamp burning day and night before Vishṇu on this day gains a place in the world of the Sun, and that person’s departed ancestors stay content in svarga, filled with amṛta (nectar). The Kāmikā vow destroys even the pāpa of killing a brāhmaṇa or causing an abortion.

17. Putradā Ekādaśī: Śrāvaṇa Śukla (Chapter 55)

The “giver of a son”. At the start of the Dvāpara Yuga, Mahījit, king of Māhishmatī, had no son even though he was pious and just. His people, worried for the kingdom’s future, looked for the ancient ṛshi Lomaśa in a thick forest. (One hair fell from Lomaśa’s body at the end of each kalpa, a vast cycle of time.) Through meditation Lomaśa saw the cause: in a past birth Mahījit had been a merchant who drove a thirsty cow away from a pond and drank first himself. Lomaśa prescribed the Putradā Ekādaśī. The people kept it together and passed the merit to Mahījit, and the queen conceived and gave birth to a son. This Śrāvaṇa Putradā is different from the Pausha Putradā (Chapter 41).

18. Ajā Ekādaśī: Bhādrapada Kṛshṇa (Chapter 56)

The “unborn” or “inexhaustible” Ekādaśī. King Hariścandra lost his kingdom and sold his wife, his son and himself into service, becoming the slave of a caṇḍāla (a person outside the four varṇas). The ṛshi Gautama visited him and taught him the Ajā Ekādaśī. Hariścandra kept the fast, and by its power he was freed from all suffering, reunited with his family and given back his kingdom, and in the end he reached svarga. The story presents this Ekādaśī as the remedy for the worst misfortune, even when a person has fallen to the lowest state.

19. Padmā Ekādaśī: Bhādrapada Śukla (Chapter 57)

The “lotus” Ekādaśī. Emperor Māndhātā of the Solar dynasty faced a three-year drought in his kingdom. When his people appealed to him, he went into the forest and found the ṛshi Aṅgiras, a son of Brahmā. Aṅgiras said the cause was a śūdra doing tapas in the Kṛta Yuga. Māndhātā refused to kill an innocent practitioner and asked for a righteous remedy. Aṅgiras prescribed the Padmā Ekādaśī. Māndhātā kept it together with all four varṇas; the rain came and the land recovered. The story shows that Ekādaśī kept together by a whole community can change the order of nature.

20. Indirā Ekādaśī: Āśvina Kṛshṇa (Chapter 58)

The Ekādaśī of Indirā (Lakshmī), with the special power to free departed ancestors from the realm of Yama. Nārada visited King Indrasena of Māhishmatī and told him he had seen the king’s father held in Yama’s court because of an unfinished vow. The father had asked that the Indirā Ekādaśī be kept on his behalf. Nārada gave the full procedure:

1. Śrāddha (offerings to the ancestors) on Daśamī, the tenth day
2. The Ekādaśī fast with pūjā of the Śālagrāma (a sacred stone form of Vishṇu) and a night vigil
3. Śrāddha again on Dvādaśī, the twelfth day, with ancestral offerings given to brāhmaṇas

Indrasena kept it with his whole household. A shower of flowers fell, and his father appeared on Garuḍa and rose to Vaikuṇṭha, the abode of Vishṇu.

21. Pāpāṅkuśā Ekādaśī: Āśvina Śukla (Chapter 59)

The “goad against pāpa”, the goad that drives all pāpa away. Kṛshṇa stresses its great power: thousands of Aśvamedha (horse) yajñas and hundreds of Rājasūya yajñas do not equal a sixteenth part of this fast. A man who fasts on Pāpāṅkuśā frees ten members of his mother’s family, ten of his father’s family and ten of his wife’s family.

The chapter also makes an important statement of teaching: a devotee of Vishṇu who speaks ill of Śiva goes to naraka, and a devotee of Śiva who speaks ill of Vishṇu suffers in the naraka called Raurava until fourteen Indras have come and gone. Vishṇu and Śiva are to be honoured equally.

22. Ramā Ekādaśī: Kārtika Kṛshṇa (Chapter 60)

The Ekādaśī of Ramā (Lakshmī). King Mucukunda kept a strict household rule of Ekādaśī fasting; even the animals had to go without food. His daughter Candrabhāgā had kept the vow since she was eight. Her husband Śobhana was by nature too weak to bear hunger, but he fasted when he was visiting, and he died from the strain at sunrise. The merit of the vow carried him to a splendid divine city on Mount Mandara. But the city was unsteady, because he had fasted without full faith. The brāhmaṇa Somaśarman found him there. Candrabhāgā travelled to her husband by way of the āśrama (hermitage) of the ṛshi Vāmadeva, and the merit of her lifelong vow made the city steady for ever.

23. Prabodhinī (Haribodhinī) Ekādaśī: Kārtika Śukla (Chapter 61)

The “awakening” Ekādaśī, the day Vishṇu wakes from his four-month sleep. It is also called Haribodhinī and Udbodhinī. Brahmā told Nārada of its greatness. Even one fast on this day gives the merit of thousands of Aśvamedha yajñas. Keeping vigil burns up pāpa gathered over thousands of past lives, like a heap of cotton in a fire. All pāpa done by deed, mind and speech is washed away. Whatever is done on this day, whether bathing, giving gifts, mantra or pūjā, brings a crore times the merit. The text says strongly: “All the religious merit that would be earned by a man from his birth becomes fruitless if the vow in Kārtika is not observed.” This chapter also lays the basis for the Cāturmāsya observances, which end on this day.

24. Kamalā Ekādaśī: Adhika-māsa (Purushottama Month) Śukla (Chapter 62)

The highest Ekādaśī of the extra month (adhika-māsa), also called Purushottama-māsa. Jayaśarman was the youngest of the five sons of the brāhmaṇa Śivaśarman of Avantī. His father sent him away for his troublesome conduct. Wandering in poverty, he reached the āśrama of the ṛshi Harimitra at the Triveṇī (the meeting of three rivers) during the Purushottama month and heard the account of the Kamalā Ekādaśī. He kept the fast in a lonely temple, and Lakshmī herself appeared and gave him the boon that his family line would prosper.

Lakshmī also taught that this month is the best of months, as Garuḍa is the best of birds; that even the devas wish to be born on earth to keep this vow; and that the Dvādaśī of this month stands among days as the Gaṅgā stands among rivers.

25. Kāmadā Ekādaśī: General Rules (Chapter 63)

Chapter 63 gives the general rules of Ekādaśī in the form of the Kāmadā vow, which applies to all Ekādaśīs.

The merit of this vow equals the gift of a thousand cows.

How Every Ekādaśī Is Kept

All Ekādaśīs follow the same basic pattern:

• Upavāsa (fasting) on the eleventh tithi: keeping away from grains and beans
• Jāgaraṇa (vigil): staying awake through the night of Ekādaśī in prārthanā, devotion and the chanting of Vishṇu’s names
• Pāraṇa (breaking the fast): on the next day, Dvādaśī (the twelfth), at the proper time
• Devotion to Vishṇu: pūjā, nāma-saṅkīrtana (singing the divine names) and reading sacred texts

The Uttara Khaṇḍa also has chapters on the Triḥspṛśā vow (Chapter 34), the Unmīlanī Ekādaśī (Chapter 35), the Pakshavardhinī Ekādaśī of the extra month (Chapter 36), and the importance of staying awake on Ekādaśī night (Chapter 37). Together these make a complete guide to Ekādaśī practice.

The Example of Ambarīsha

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa tells of King Ambarīsha, who broke his Ekādaśī fast by sipping pādodaka (water that has washed the feet of the deity) when the ṛshi Durvāsā arrived late, and of how the Sudarśana cakra, Vishṇu’s disc, was sent to defend him. This account adds a further lesson: Ekādaśī is so sacred that even the rules for ending it (the pāraṇa on Dvādaśī) must be honoured, and Bhagavān Vishṇu himself protects the devotee who keeps it sincerely.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 34–37
• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 38–63
• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 25