Indrasena and the Indirā Ekādaśī

King Indrasena of Māhishmatī was wholly devoted to Bhagavān Vishṇu. The ṛshi Nārada brought him a message from his dead father, who was in the realm of Yama. Indrasena kept the Indirā Ekādaśī vow, the Ekādaśī of the dark fortnight of Āśvina, as Nārada taught him. His father then rose to the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Chapter 58 of the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this.

King Indrasena

In the Kṛta age there was a king named Indrasena, lord of the city of Māhishmatī. He had glory, ruled by dharma, had sons and grandsons, and had wealth and grain. He was devoted to Bhagavān Vishṇu alone. He passed his days repeating the names of Bhagavān Vishṇu in his mind and meditating on the Supreme Spirit.

Nārada’s visit and the father’s message

One day Indrasena was sitting at ease in his assembly when the ṛshi Nārada came down from the sky. The king stood up at once, greeted Nārada with joined palms, honoured him in the proper way and gave him a seat. The king asked why he had come. Then Nārada told him a strange account.

Nārada had gone to the world of Brahmā, and from there to the realm of Yama. Yama honoured him and gave him a seat. In the assembly of Yama, Nārada saw Indrasena’s father. He was a man of many righteous acts, yet he was there because some vow he had taken had not been completed.

The father had given Nārada a message for his son: “Tell King Indrasena of Māhishmatī that I remain in Yama’s realm because of some obstacle from my former existence. Let him give me the merit of the Indirā Ekādaśī, so that he may send me to svarga (heaven).”

The Indirā vrata

Indrasena asked Nārada to explain the Indirā vow fully: in which fortnight, on which tithi (lunar day) and in what way it is kept.

Nārada gave these rules:

  1. On the tenth day of the dark fortnight of Āśvina, bathe in the morning. At midday perform śrāddha (the rite for the ancestors) with faith. Eat once only. At night sleep on the ground.
  2. On the Ekādaśī day, wash the face without cleaning the teeth. Take the vow of fasting with this prayer: “Remaining without food and without all pleasures today, I shall eat tomorrow, O lotus-eyed one. O Vishṇu, be my refuge.”
  3. At midday bathe the Śālagrāma stone and worship Bhagavān Vishṇu with incense, sandal paste and other offerings.
  4. At night keep awake in the presence of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
  5. On the morning of the twelfth day worship Bhagavān Vishṇu. Then perform śrāddha. Offer wheat flour, barley, rice, sesame, beans and grams to the ancestors. Honour the brāhmaṇas with gifts. Then eat with the family.

Nārada also told the king: “O king, your dead ancestors will go to the world of Vishṇu.”

The result

Nārada left. King Indrasena and his household, his wives, sons and servants, kept the Indirā Ekādaśī vow exactly as Nārada had taught. When the vow was complete, a shower of flowers fell from the sky. Indrasena’s father, riding on Garuḍa, the vehicle of Bhagavān Vishṇu, rose to the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu, freed from Yama’s realm. King Indrasena ruled his kingdom free from all troubles. In time he placed his son on the throne, and afterwards he reached svarga.

The Indirā Ekādaśī is thus named in this account as a vow that frees ancestors who are held in Yama’s realm.

Sources

  • Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 58