King Citrasena
Citrasena was a king whom the Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa describes as a man of great pāpa (sin). He was saved by the Janmāshṭamī vow, the fast kept on the birthday of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. He kept the vow by accident, on the bank of the Yamunā. Through it he went with his dead ancestors to the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
His way of life
Chapter 13 of the Brahma Khaṇḍa introduces Citrasena as an example of extreme pāpa. He kept illicit relations. He stole gold from brāhmaṇas. He was addicted to liquor and to eating flesh. He loved to kill animals. He was always in the company of caṇḍālas and of the fallen. He is the example used for the teaching on the Janmāshṭamī vow.
The day on the Yamunā
One day Citrasena went hunting and chased a tiger. By evening he had not killed it. Hunger and thirst troubled him on the bank of the Yamunā.
That day was the Ashṭamī (eighth tithi) of the dark fortnight of Bhādrapada, joined with Rohiṇī. This is the birth tithi of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, called Janmāshṭamī. On the bank he saw caṇḍāla girls keeping the Janmāshṭamī vow with great devotion. They had many articles of worship, auspicious incense and lamps, sandal, saffron, flowers and food of many fine kinds.
Hunger shook Citrasena’s mind. He said he would die if he did not eat. The caṇḍāla girls would not let him eat. They said:
“O king, free of pāpa as you are, on the day of Janmāshṭamī, which is sacred to Bhagavān Vishṇu, you should not eat. A person who has not kept the Jayantī fast while alive goes to the abode of Yama. His ancestors do not accept what he offers them. All the ancestors are thrown down when food is taken on a Jayantī.”
When the king heard this from the caṇḍāla girls, he kept the vow. He brought a few flowers, a little sandal and a small piece of cloth. At the end of the day he broke his fast.
The result
By the power of this vow, Citrasena and his dead ancestors boarded a divine vimāna (aerial vehicle) and went to the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 13