Tag Archives: Krishna

Pavitropana Ekadashi in Shukla Paksha

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Shri Yudhisthira Maharaja said, “Oh Madhusudana, please describe to me the Ekadashi that occurs during the light fortnight of the month of Shravana (July-August).” The Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, replied, “Yes, I shall happily narrate its glories to you, for just by hearing about this sacred Ekadashi one attains the merit of performing a horse sacrifice.

At the dawn of Dvarpara-yuga there lived a king by the name of Mahijita, who ruled the kingdom of Mahismati-puri. As he had no son, his kingdom seemed cheerless to him.

The Sanskrit word for ‘son’ is putra. Pu is the name of a particular hell, and tra means ‘to deliver.’ Thus the word putra means ‘a person who delivers one from the hell named Pu.’ Therefore every married man should produce at least one son and train him properly; then the father will be delivered from a hellish condition of life. But this injunction does not apply to the serious devotees of Lord Vishnu or Krishna, for the Lord becomes their son, father, and mother.

For a long time this king tried very hard to obtain an heir, but to no avail. The king’s advisers visited various great sages. At last they came upon a sage who was austere, pure, and self-satisfied, and who was strictly observing a vow of fasting. He was expert in all the conclusions of the Vedas, and he had extended his life span to that of Lord Brahma himself. His name was Lomasa Rishi, and he knew the past, present, and future.

King Mahijita’s advisers offered obeisances to him and said, ‘Only because of our great good fortune, have we been allowed to see you.’  Lomasa Rishi saw them bowing down to him and replied, ‘Kindly let me know why you have come here. I shall do all I can to solve your problems.’

The king’s representatives said, ‘Our king, Mahijita, is without a son, though he has sustained and protected us as if we were his sons. We request you to tell us how our king can obtain a son.’

Lomasa Rishi absorbed himself in deep meditation for a moment and at once understood the king’s previous life. Then he said, ‘Your ruler was a merchant in his past life, and feeling his wealth insufficient, he committed sinful deeds. He traveled to many villages to trade his goods. Once, at noon he became thirsty while traveling from place to place. He came upon a pond and just as he was about to drink, a cow arrived there with her new-born calf. When the cow and calf started to drink, the merchant rudely shoved them aside and selfishly slaked his own thirst. This offense against a cow and her calf has resulted in your king’s being without a son now. But the good deeds he performed in his previous life have given him rulership over an undisturbed kingdom.’

Hearing this, the king’s advisers replied, ‘Oh renowned rishi, please give us some instruction by which our king’s sins can be destroyed; so that a prince will take birth in his family.’

Lomasa Rishi said, ‘There is an Ekadashi called Putrada, which comes during the light fortnight of the month of Shravana. On this day all of you, including your king, should fast and stay awake all night, strictly following the rules and regulations. Then you should give the king whatever merit you gain by this fast, he will surely be blessed with a fine son.’

When the month of Shravana arrived, all the citizens of Mahismati-puri, as well as the king, fasted on Ekadashi. And on the next day, Dwadashi, the citizens dutifully offered their accrued merit to him. By the strength of all this merit, the queen became pregnant and eventually gave birth to a beautiful son.

“O Yudhisthira,” Lord Krishna concluded, “the Ekadashi that comes during the light fortnight of the month of Shravana has thus rightfully become famous as Putrada [“bestower of a son”]. Whoever desires happiness in this world and the next should certainly fast from all grains and legumes on this holy day. Indeed, whoever simply hears the glories of Putrada Ekadashi becomes completely free of all sins, is blessed with a good son, and surely ascends to heaven after death.”

Thus ends the narration of the glories of Shravana-shukla Ekadashi, or Putrada Ekadashi, from the Bhavishya Purana.

“Jai Shri RadheKrishna”

Lord Krishna as Govardhan Dhari

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Govardhan Dhari

Lord Krishna is also known as Govardhan Dhari – the one who held the Govardhan parvat.

When Lord Krishna was a young boy everybody in Brajdham loved and respected him. Once it so happened, that Lord Krishna told the people of Brajdham to stop worshipping Lord Indra. Everybody agreed to stop praying to Indra. Lord Indra was very angry at this insult. He thought, “How dare these milkmen and shepherds insult me? They have become too proud of themselves. How dare theytreat me this way? Now I’ll teach them a lesson, they’ll remember all their lives.”

So Lord Indra called Samvartak. They were the dark clouds which rained torrents of rainto cause floods and typhoons and other such calamities. Lord Indra ordered him, “Go and rain on Brajdham heavily to cause floods. I’ll arrive behind you with Erawat and the elephant army.”

Samvartak reached the Brajdham with the dark clouds. There they fell heavily and sent non-stop showers. Soon Brajdham was flooded. Trees were uprooted and wild winds started destroying the houses. The people rushed to Lord Krishna for help, “O Krishna, only you can save us from Indra’s wrath. Please save your Brajdham,” they pleaded.

“Yes,” said Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna reached Govardhan Parvat, a huge hill. Everybody was surprised, when he picked it up in his right hand as jilt was a feather and held it high. Then he said to the people, “Go and get your families, cattle and stand with me under this till the thunderstorms and rains subside. Believe me you’ll all be safe. Govardhan will not fall on you as you think” “This untimely change in weather is surely the wrong doing of Lord Indra. He is not behaving as Gods do,” he said to the people. The people of Brajdham rushed to take cover under Govardhan Parvat with their precious possessions. The rains and thunderstorms continued for seven days and all this time Lord Krishna stood holding the hill on his hand. He neither slept nor ate anything.

Seeing the determination and strength of Lord Krishna, Lord Indra was surprised. He felt ashamed of his doing and his pride had taken a fall. He ordered Samvartak to stop the showers. When the storms and rains were over, Lord Krishna asked the people to return to their homes. Then he put back Govardhan Parvat at its original position. The people then rushed to touch his feet with hearts full of gratitude.

Yashoda, Rohini and Nanda, all embraced young Krishna with love and pride. And after this incident Lord Krishna earned the name of Govardhan Dhari, which means one who held the Govardhan Parvat.

“Jai Shri RadheKrishna”

Kamika Ekadashi in Krishna Paksha

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Yudhisthira Maharaj said, “Oh Sri Krishna, I would like to hear from You the glories of the Ekadashi that occurs during the dark fortnight (Krishna paksha) of the month of Shravana (July–August). Please be merciful to me and explain its glories.”

Sri Krishna, replied, “Oh King, please listen attentively as I describe the auspicious influence of this day, which removes all sins. Narada Muni once asked Lord Brahma about this same topic.

Lord Brahma replied, ‘My dear son Narada, for the benefit of all humanity I shall happily tell you everything you wish to know; for just hearing the glories of the Kamika Ekadashi bestows merit equal to that obtained by one who performs a horse sacrifice. Certainly, great merit is attained by one who worships, and who also meditates on the lotus feet of the four-armed Lord Gadadhara, who holds a conch shell, disc, club and lotus in His hands and who is also known as Sridhara, Hari, Vishnu, Madhava, and Madhusudana.

Observing Kamika Ekadashi bestows the same merit as donating a milch cow and her auspicious calf, along with their feed. On this all auspicious day, whosoever worships Lord Sri Sridhara-deva, Vishnu, is glorified by all the devas, Gandharvas, Pannagas, and Nagas.

Those who are afraid of their past sins and completely immersed in sinful materialistic life should at least observe this best of Ekadashis according to their ability and thus attain liberation. Oh Narada, Lord Shri Hari Himself once said about this Ekadashi, “One who fasts on Kamika Ekadashi attains much more merit than one who studies all the spiritual literatures.”

Anyone who fasts on this particular day and remains awake throughout the night will never experience the anger of Yamaraja, the king of death personified. 

Whosoever worships Lord Shri Hari with Tulasi leaves is freed from all implication of sin. Indeed, he lives untouched by sin, as the lotus leaf, although in the water, is untouched by it.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is more pleased by one who offers Him a single Tulasi leaf than by one who worships Him with pearls, rubies, diamonds, etc. One who offers Lord Keshava newly grown manjari buds from the tulasi plant gets rid of all the sins he has committed during this or any other lifetime. Indeed, mere darshana of Tulasi on Kamika Ekadashi removes all sins, and merely touching her and praying to her removes all kinds of disease. One who waters Tulasi devi need never fear the Lord of death, Yamaraja. One who plants or transplants Tulasi on this day will eventually reside with Lord Shri Krishna in His own abode. To Srimati Tulasi devi, who awards liberation in devotional service, one should therefore daily offer one’s full obeisances.

Even Chitragupta, Yamaraja’s secretary, cannot calculate the merit obtained by one who offers Srimati Tulasi-devi a perpetually burning ghee lamp. So dear is this sacred Ekadashi to the Supreme Personality of Godhead that all the forefathers of one who offers a bright ghee lamp to Lord Shri Krishna on this day ascend to the heavenly planets and drink the celestial nectar there. Whoever offers a ghee or sesame oil lamp to Shri Krishna on this day is freed from all his sins and enters the abode of Surya, the Sun-god, with a body as bright as ten million lamps. This Ekadashi is so powerful that if one who is unable to fast simply follows the practices as mentioned herein, he / she is elevated to the heavenly planets, along with all their forefathers.’

Oh Maharaj Yudhisthira, Lord Shri Krishna concluded, “…these were the words of Prajapati Brahma to his son Narada Muni concerning the incalculable glories of this Kamika Ekadashi, which removes all sins. This sacred day nullifies even the sin of killing a brahmana or the sin of killing an unborn child in the womb, and it promotes one to the spiritual world by making one supremely meritorious.”

Whosoever hears these glories of the Kamika Ekadashi with faith becomes free of all sins and returns home, back to Godhead.

“Jai Shri RadheKrishna”