Utpanna Ekadashi Vrat Katha | Legends of Utpanna Ekadashi

Utpanna Ekadashi Vrat Katha

Shri Sutji said, "O Vipron! Lord Shri Krishna had told this Ekadashi Mahatmya to Arjuna along with the method. Only those who have faith in the Lord listen to this fast with love and after enjoying many pleasures in this world, finally attain Vaikuntha. Once Arjun asked Lord Krishna - "O Janardana! What is the glory of Ekadashi fast? What virtue is gained by observing this fast? What is its method? So please tell me."

Hearing these words of Arjuna, Lord Shri Krishna said, "O Arjuna! First of all, one should fast on Ekadashi of Krishna Paksha in the Margashirsha month of Hemant Ritu. One should do Datuna on the evening of Dashami and should not take food at night. On Ekadashi, resolve in the morning. One should work according to the rules. One should take bath in the afternoon with determination. Before bathing, mud paste should be applied on the body. After bathing, sandalwood tilak should be applied on the forehead. The mantra for applying sandalwood is as follows-

अश्वक्रान्ते रथक्रान्ते विष्णुक्रान्ते वसुन्धरे,
उद्धृतापि वराहेण कृष्णेन शतबाहुना।
मृत्तिके हर में पाप यन्मया पूर्वक सञ्चितम्,
त्वचा हतेन पापेन गच्छामि परमां गतिम्॥

Ashvakrante Rathakrante Vishnukrante Vasundhare,
Uddhritapi Varahena Krishnena Shatabahuna।
Mrittike Hara Mein Papa Yanmaya Purvaka Sanchitam,
Tvacha Hatena Papena Gachchhami Paramam Gatim॥

After taking bath, one should worship God with Dhoopa (incense), Deepa and Naivedya. Deepdan should be done at night. All these virtuous deeds should be done with devotion. One should chant the name of Shri Hari while keeping vigil at night and should stay away from any kind of pleasures or women's affairs. Only pure and virtuous thoughts should be given place in the heart. On this day, donations should be given to Brahmins with devotion, and one should seek forgiveness from them for their sins. Religious people should consider both Ekadashis of Shukla Paksha and Krishna Paksha as equal. There should not be any discrimination between them. According to the above method, the virtue that people who observe Ekadashi fast, get by visiting Shankhodhara Teertha and Darshan, is not even equal to one sixteenth part of the virtue of Ekadashi fast. Hey Arjuna! The same virtue that a person gets by donating in Vyatipata Yoga, Sankranti, during solar eclipse and lunar eclipse and by taking bath in Kurukshetra, a person gets the same virtue by fasting on Ekadashi. O son of Kunti! The result that one gets by donating a thousand cows to Vedapathi Brahmins is ten times more than that by fasting on Punya Ekadashi. The virtue gained by feeding ten great Brahmins is equal to one-tenth of the virtue of Ekadashi. Half the benefit of observing Nirjala Vrat is equivalent to eating one meal at a time. Therefore, only by fasting on Ekadashi, one can attain Yagya, charity, penance, etc. Otherwise, one must observe the fast on Ekadashi. One should not drink water from the conch during this Ekadashi fast. Non-vegetarian and other vegetarian food is completely prohibited during the fast of Ekadashi. The results of Ekadashi fast are greater than a thousand Yajnas."

Hearing the words of Lord Shri Krishna, Arjun said, "O Lord! Why have you described the virtues of this Ekadashi fast as better and more sacred than the virtues of many pilgrimages? Please tell all this in detail."

Shri Krishna said, "O Partha! There was a very dangerous demon in Satyayuga, his name was Mura. That demon defeated the Indra and other gods and removed them from their positions. After that Indra prayed to Lord Shankar, "O Bholenath! All of us gods are living our lives in the mortal world, saddened by the atrocities of the demon Mura. We are suffering a lot due to the fear of demons. I myself am very sad and scared, what to talk about other gods, so O Kailashpati! Please tell me the solution to protect myself from the atrocities of the demon Mura.

Hearing the prayer of Devraj, Shankarji said, "O Devendra! You go to Lord Shri Hari. Lord Vishnu, who killed Madhu-Kaitabha, will definitely free the gods from this fear."

As per the orders of Mahadevji, Indra and other gods went to Ksheer Sagar, where Lord Shri Hari was seated on the Shesha shaiya.

All the gods including Indra appeared before Lord Vishnu and praised him, "O Lord of the three worlds! You are worthy of praise; we all the gods offer our obeisances to you. O destroyer of demons! We take refuge in you, please protect us. Oh Trilokapati! We all the gods have come to your refuge in fear of the atrocities of the demons. At this time the demons have driven us out of heaven and we all the gods are wandering in the Mrityuloka in a very pitiful condition. Now you are our protector! Protect us! Oh Kailashpati! Oh Jagannath! Protect us."

Hearing the pitiful cry of the gods, Lord Shri Hari said - "O gods! Which demon is that who has conquered the gods? For whose fear are you all the gods wandering in the earth? Is that demon so strong that he along with Indra has Have you conquered all the gods? You fearlessly tell me the whole story."

Hearing these affectionate words of Lord Vishnu, Devendra said, "O Lord! In ancient times, there was a demon named Nadi Jangam, born in the Brahmavansha, who had a son named Mura, who resided in a city named Chandravati, who by his strength He has conquered the Mrityuloka and the Devaloka and has expelled all the gods from the Devaloka and has made the demons of his demon clan the guardians of the world like Indra, Agni, Yama, Varuna, Chandra etc. He himself becomes the Sun and heats the earth and becomes clouds to rains water, hence you protect the gods by killing this powerful and terrible demon."

Hearing such words from Devendra's mouth, Lord Vishnu said, "O Gods! I will soon kill your enemy. All of you come with me to Chandravati city right now."

On the call of the gods, Lord Vishnu immediately went with them. On the other hand, the demon king Mura had come to know from his power that Shri Vishnu was coming towards his capital with the desire of war, hence he along with his demon warriors also came to the battlefield and started roaring. Within no time the war started. When the war started, countless demons started fighting with the gods wearing various weapons, but the gods were already scared, they could not face the demons for long and ran away. Then Lord Vishnu himself came to the battlefield. The demons became more enthusiastic than before and started fighting with Lord Vishnu. They started attacking them fiercely with their weapons. Shri Vishnu started destroying the attacks of demons with the blows of his Chakra and Gada (Mace). In this war, many demons died forever, but the demon king Mura continued fighting with Lord Vishnu without any fear. It seemed as if his hair had not even grown yet. He was fighting without fear. Whatever weapons Lord Vishnu used to kill Mura, all of them were destroyed by his radiance and started falling on him like flowers. Even after using many weapons, Lord Vishnu could not win over him. Then they started wrestling amongst themselves. Lord Shri Hari kept fighting with that demon for a thousand years for the gods but could not win. At last, Lord Vishnu, desiring to rest peacefully, entered a cave named Hemavati located at Badarika Ashram, which was thirty-eight Kosa long and had a single door.

O Arjuna! The Lord slept in that cave. That demon had also followed Lord Vishnu. Seeing Lord Sri Hari sleeping, he got ready to kill him. He was thinking, "Today I will kill my eternal enemy and become free from evil forever", but his wish could not be fulfilled, because at the same time a extremely beautiful divine girl wearing divine clothes emerged from the body of Lord Vishnu. She was born and challenged the demon and started fighting with him.

Seeing that girl, the demon was extremely surprised and started wondering where such a divine girl came from. After that, the demon continued fighting with that girl. After some time, the girl got angry and destroyed the demon's weapon - The weapons were cut into pieces. Broke his chariot. Now the demon got very angry and breaking all the rules, he started wrestling with the girl.

That brilliant girl made that demon unconscious with one blow and before he could lose his unconsciousness, he cut off his head and severed it from his body.

As soon as his head was cut off, that demon fell on the earth and died and the remaining demons, seeing such a tragic end for their king, got scared and ran away to the Paatal Loka. When Lord Vishnu woke up from sleep, he was surprised to see that demon dead and he started wondering who had killed this great warrior?

Then that brilliant girl folded her hands and said to Shri Hari, "O Jagdishwara! This demon was ready to kill you, then I, born from your body, have killed this demon."

Listening to the girl, God said, "You have killed this demon, hence O girl! I am very happy with you. By ending this Rakshasa, you have defeated the suffering of the gods of the three worlds, hence you can ask for the boon as per your wish. I will fulfill your every wish."

Listening to God, the girl said, "O Lord! Grant me this boon that whoever fasts for me, all his sins will be destroyed and in the end, he will attain heaven. I will get half the fruit of my fast at night. And the person who eats food at one time gets half of its fruit. Those devotees who observe my fast with devotion will definitely attain Vaikuntha Loka. The person who eats food once during the day and night during my fast, may he be full of wealth and grains. Please grant me such a boon."

Lord Shri Hari said, "O girl! It will be like this. My devotees and you will be one and will ultimately attain fame in the world and attain my world. O Kalyani! You have appeared on Ekadashi, that is why your name is also Ekadashi. It happened. Because you were born from my part, that is why you will be famous in the world by the name of Utpanna Ekadashi and all the sins of the people who fast on this day will be completely destroyed. You will now even more dear to me than Teeja, Ashtami, Navami and Chaudasa. The result of your fast will be greater than the results of all pilgrimages. This is my irrefutable statement."

Having said this, Lord Sri Hari disappeared at that very place."

Shri Krishna said, "O son of Pandu! The result of fasting on Ekadashi is greater than all the fasts and the results of all the pilgrimages. I destroy the enemies of the people who observe Ekadashi fast and grant salvation to the person observing the fast. Whatever troubles those people face in life, I destroy them also. That is, the person who observes the fast of Ekadashi, which is very dear to me, becomes fearless and happy from all sides and finally attains salvation. O son of Kunti! This I have told you about the origin of Ekadashi. Ekadashi fast destroys all sins and grants success. Great people should consider the Ekadashis of both the Paksha to be equal. It is not right to discriminate between them. The person who will listen and read the Ekadashi Mahatmya, will get the same results as the Ashwamedha Yagya. This is my irrefutable word."

Synopsis (Katha-Saar)

Ekadashi is the visible power of Lord Vishnu, the power which has killed the demon named Mura, whom even God was unable to defeat, how can the demon in the form of human sins stand in front of that power? The power which removed the sufferings of the gods and gave them happiness can provide anything to mere mortals. Therefore, by the grace of Goddess Ekadashi, all types of happiness, prosperity, peace and salvation are easily attained.