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Padmini Ekadasi - Adik Maas Ekadasi 25-05-2018

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praveen

Life is a dream
Staff member
Yudhishthira Maharaja said, Oh Janardana, what is the name ofthe Ekadasi that occurs during the light fortnight (shukla paksha) of theextra, leap year month? How does one observe it properly? Please narrate all this to me.

The Supreme Lord, Lord Sri Krishna,replied the meritorious Ekadasi that occurs during the light fortnight of the extra month of leap year is called Padmini. It is very auspicious. The fortunate soul who observes it with great determination and faith will return to Vishnu Loka. Thisextra-month Ekadasi is as powerful as I am in nullifying sins. Even four-headed Lord Brahma cannot glorify it sufficiently. Long ago Lord Brahma told Naradaabout this liberating, sin-removing Ekadasi.

Lord Krishna said: Oh king, please listen carefully as I narrate to you the process of fasting on Padmini Ekadasi, which is rarely done even by great sages.

One should begin his fast on the Dashami, the day before Ekadasi, by not eating any Urad dal, pink dal, chickpeas, spinach, honey, or sea salt, and also bynot dining in homes of others or off bell-metal plates. These eight things should be avoided. One should eat only once on the Dashami, sleep on the ground, and remain celibate. On Ekadasi the devotee should rise early in the morning but should brush his teeth. Then he should thoroughly bathe - in a place of pilgrimage, if possible. While chanting sacred hymns from the Vedas, he should smear his body with cow dung mixed with clay, sesame seed paste, kusha grass, and the powder of Amalaki fruits. Then the devotee should take another thorough bath,after which he should chant the following prayers: "Oh sacred clay, you have been created by Lord Brahma, purified by Kashyapa Muni, and lifted by Lord Krishna in His form as Varaha, the boar incarnation.

Oh clay,please purify my head, eyes, and other limbs. Oh clay, I offer my obeisanceunto you. Kindly purify me so I may worship the Supreme Lord, Sri Hari"."Oh cow-dung, you posses medicinal and antiseptic qualities because you have come directly from thestomach of our universal mother, the cow. You can purify the entire planet Earth. Please accept my humble obeisance’s and purify me". "Oh Amalaki fruits, please accept my humble obeisance’s. You have taken your birthfrom the saliva of Lord Brahma, and thus by your very presence the entireplanet is purified. Kindly cleanse and purify my bodily limbs". "Oh Supreme Lord Vishnu, Oh God of the gods, Oh master of the universe, Oh holderof the conch, disc, club, and lotus, please allow me to bathe in all the holy placesof pilgrimage."


Reciting these excellent prayers,chanting mantras to Lord Varuna, and meditating on all the places of pilgrimagelocated on the banks of the Ganges, one should bathe in whatever body of water is at hand. Then, OhYudhishthira, the devotee should rub his body, thus purifying his mouth, back,chest, arms, and waist as a prelude to worshipping the Supreme Lord, who wearsbrilliant yellow garments and gives pleasure to all creatures. By so doing, thedevotee will destroy all his sins. Afterwards, he should chant the sacredGayatri mantra, offer oblations to his forefathers, and then enter a Vishnutemple to worship Lord Narayana, the husband of the Goddess of Fortune,Laxmi-devi.
 
If possible, the devotee should thenfashion Deities of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna or Shiva and Parvati out of goldand offer them nice devotional worship. He should fill a copper or clay potwith pure water mixed with scents, and then he should cover the pot with a cloth lid and a goldor silver lid, in this way preparing an Asana upon which the Radha-Krishna orShiva-Parvati murthis may sit for worship. According to capacity, the devoteeshould then worship these murtis with fragrant incense, a bright ghee lamp, andsandalwood paste along with camphor, musk, kumkum, and other scents, as well asselected aromatic flowers like white lotuses and other seasonal blooms, andalso very nicely prepared foods.




On this special Ekadasi the devotees shoulddance and sing ecstatically before the Deity. He should avoid prajalpa (talkingunnecessarily of ordinary, mundane conversational topics) at all costs andshould not talk to or touch lowborn persons (untrained persons habituated to lowacts) or a woman in her menstrual period, or others so absorbed. On this day heshould be especially careful to speak the truth and certainly not criticizeanyone before the Deity of Lord Vishnu, the Brahmins, or the spiritual master.Rather, with other devotees he should be absorbed in listening to Vaishnavasread the glories of Lord Vishnu from the Puranas. One should not drink or eventouch water to his lips on this Ekadasi, and one who is unable to perform this austerity should drinkonly water or milk. Otherwise, the fast is considered broken. One should remainawake that Ekadasi night, singing and playing musical instruments for thetranscendental pleasure of the Supreme Person.








During the first quarter of the Ekadasinight the devotee should offer some coconut meat to his worshippable Deity(Isthadeva), during the second part he should offer soothing belfruit, duringthe third part an orange, and as the night draws to a close some betel nut.Remaining awake during the first part of the Ekadasi night bestows on thedevotee / sadhaka the same merit as that gained byperforming the Agnistoma-yajna. Staying awake during the second part of thenight bestows the same merit as that gained by performing aVajapeya-yajna. Stay awakeduring the third part gives one the same merit as that attained by performingan Ashvamedhayajna. And one who remains awake throughout the night receives allof the above mentioned merit, as well as the grand merit of having performed aRajasUrya-yajna. Thus there is no better fasting day in the year than Padmini Ekadasi. Nothing can compare to it as agiver of merit, whether it be a fire sacrifice, knowledge, education, orausterity. Indeed, whoever observes this sacred Ekadasi fast receives all themerit attained by bathing in all the places of pilgrimage in the world.








After remaining awake throughout thenight, the devotee should bathe at sunrise and then worship Me nicely. Heshould then feed a qualified Brahmin and respectfully give him the Deity ofLord Keshava and the pot filled with pure scented water. This gift willguarantee the devotee success in this life and liberation in the hereafter.




Oh sinless Yudhishthira, as you haverequested, I have described the rules and regulations, as well as the benefits,regarding the Ekadasi that occurs during the light fortnight of the extra, leap-year month. Fasting onthis Padmini day bestows merit equal to that gained by fasting on all otherEkadasis. The Ekadasi that occurs during the dark part of the extra month, which is known as ParamaEkadasi, is as powerful at removing sin as this one, Padmini. Now please listento Me carefully as I narrate to you a fascinating account connected with thissacred day. Pulastya Muni once recited this history to Naradji.








Pulastya Muni once had occasion to rescuethe ten headed demon Ravana from the prison of Kartavirya, and upon hearing ofthis event Narada Muni asked his friend, Oh greatestof sages, since this Ravana defeated all the demigods, including Lord Indradev,how could Kartavirya defeat Ravana, who was so skilled in battle?








Pulastya Muni replied, Oh great Narada,during the Tretayuga Kartavirya (Kartavirya’s father) took birth in the Haihayadynasty. His capital city was Mahishmati, and he had one thousand Queens, whomhe loved very dearly. None of them, however, was able to give him the son hewanted so badly.








He performed sacrifices and worshippedthe devas(demigods) and forefathers (pitris), but due to the curse of some sagehe was unable to beget a son - and without a son, a king cannot enjoy hiskingdom.








King Kartavirya carefully considered hisplight and then decided to perform severe austerities to achieve his goal. Thushe donned a loincloth made of bark, grew matted locks, and turned over thereins of his kingdom to his ministers. One of his queens, Padmini - who was bornin the Ikshvaku dynasty, who was the best of all women,and who was the daughter of King Harishchandra - saw the king leaving. She feltthat, since she was a chaste wife, her duty was to follow in the footsteps ofher beloved husband. Removing all the regalornaments from her beautiful body and donning but one piece of cloth, she thusfollowed her husband into the forest.




At last Kartavirya reached the summit of Mount Gandhamadana, where he performedsevere austerities and penance’s for ten thousand years, meditating and prayingto Lord Gadadhara, who wields a club. Butstill he did not get a son. Seeing her dear husband waste away to mere skin andbone, Padmini thought of a solution to the problem. She went to the chasteAnasuya. With great reverence, Padmini said, ‘Oh great lady, my dear husband,Kartavirya, has been performing austerities for the last ten thousand years,but Lord Krishna (Keshava), who alone can remove one's past sins and presentdifficulties, has not yet become pleased with him.Oh most fortunate one, please tell me a fast day we can observe and thus pleasethe Supreme Lord with our devotion, so much so that He will bless me with anice son who will later rule the world as emperor.’








Upon hearing the appealing words of Padmini, who was very chaste and deeplydevoted to her husband, the great Anasuya replied to her in a very cheerfulmood: 'Oh beautiful, lotus-eyed lady, usually there are twelve months in ayear, but after every thirty-two months an extra month is added, and the twoEkadasis that occur during this month are called Padmini Ekadasi and ParamaEkadasi. They fall on the Dvadasiis of the light and dark partof the month, respectively. You should fast on these days and remain awakethroughout the night. If you do so, the Supreme Lord, Sri Hari, will bless youwith a son.








Oh Narada, in this way Anasuya, thedaughter of the sage Kardama Muni, explained the potency of these specialEkadasis. Hearing this, Padmini faithfully followed the instructions to fulfill her desire for ason. Padmini fasted completely, even from water, and remained awake all night,chanting the glories of God and dancing in ecstasy. Lord Keshava thus becamemost pleased with her devotion and appeared before her, riding on the backof the great Garuda. The Lord said, Oh beautiful one, you have greatly pleasedMe by fasting on the special Ekadasi of the extra month of Purushottama. Pleaseask Me for a benediction.








Hearing these sublime words from theoverseer of the entire universe, Padmini offered the Supreme Lord devotionalprayers and asked Him for the boon her husband desired. Lord Keshava (Krishna)was moved to reply, Oh gentle lady, I am very happy with you, for there is nomonth dearer to Me than this, and the Ekadasis that occurduring this month are the most dear to Me of all Ekadasis. You have followed Mydevotee Anasuya's instructions perfectly, and therefore I shall do what willplease you. You and your husband will have the desired son that you wish.'








TheLord, who removes the distress of the world, then spoke to King Kartavirya: OhKing, please ask of Me any boon that will fulfill your heart's desire, for yourdear wife has pleased Me greatly with her devotional fasting .
The king was very happy to hear this. Naturally he asked for the son he haddesired for so long: Oh master of the universe, Oh killer of the Madhu-demon,kindly grant me a son who will never be conquered by the demigods, humanbeings, snakes, demons, or hobgoblins, but whom only You can defeat. TheSupreme Lord immediately replied, ‘So be it!’ and disappeared.








The king became so very pleased with his wife and returned to his palace in her company. Padmini soon became pregnant,and the mighty-armed Kartavirya appeared as her son. He was the mightiestperson in all the three worlds, and thus even the ten-headed Ravana could notdefeat him in battle. Except for Lord Narayana, who holds a club, a disc, andother symbols in His hands no one could overcome him. By the merit that resulted from hismother's strict and faithful observance of Padmini Ekadasi, he could defeateven the dreaded Ravana. This is not at allsurprising, Oh Naradji, for Kartavirya was the fulfillment of the benedictionof the Supreme Lord. With these words, Pulastya Muni departed.








The Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, concluded,'Oh sinless Yudhishthira, as you have enquired from Me, I have explained to youthe power of this special Ekadasi. Oh best of kings, whoever observe this fastwill surely attain to Vishnu Loka.




Thus ends the narration ofthe glories of Padmini Ekadasi, the Ekadasi that occurs during the lightfortnight of the extra, leap-year month of Purushottama, from the SkandaPurana.
 
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