The story of Putrada Ekadashi :
In the ancient time, Sukentumaan was the king of Bhadravati Puri.
Even after many years of marriage, they did not had any child. Both
king and his queen were tensed and lived in depression. King was tensed
thinking, “who will give fire and cremate his body after his death?”.
Father of the king was also worried about the predecessor and the Tarpan
and Pind Daan after his death.
Once, in this depression king went
to the jungle on his horse. He moved to the dense forest and started
hearing voices of different animals. While moving in the forest, the
king felt thirsty. In search of water he moved deep inside the forest
where he saw a lake. Near the water body he saw the Ashram of Sages.
Here some Munis were studying Vedas. King came down from his horse and
drank water from the lake. His left eye started fluttering. King thought
of this as an indication of something good. King bowed to each Rishi
one after the other. The Sages were pleased by the king and blessed him.
Then, the king asked their reason for gathering. Rishis replied, “we
are Vishva Deva and we came near the lake to have a bath. After five
days the Magh month bath will start.Today is Putrada Ekadashi and people
who will observe this fast will conceive a child.”
Listening this,
king Sukentumaan asked the Vishva Devas to bestow him with the blessing
of having a son. Muni said “today is Putrada Ekadashi. Observe this fast
and worship Lord Narayana”. As told by Rishi, King observed the vrata
and performed all the rituals in a proper manner. After conclusion of
the vrata the king gave salutation to all the Rishis and went back to
his kingdom. After sometimes queen become pregnant and gave birth to a
tender bodied son. Later on he became a great warrior and a good ruler.
This way the people who observes this fast, all his obstacles in having
a child are removed and gets blessed with a son. A person who hears and
follows the greatness of this vrata achieves salvation after his death.
Kamika Ekadashi - The Story of Kamika Ekadasi
Maharaja Yudhisthira said, "0 Supreme Lord, I have heard from You
the glories of fasting on Deva-sayani Ekadashi, which occurs during the
light part of the month of Asadha. Now I
would like to hear about the Ekadashi that occurs during the dark
fortnight of the month of Sravana [JulyAugust]. 0 Govinda, please be
merciful to me and explain its glories. 0 Vasudeva, I offer my humble
obeisances unto You."
The Supreme Lord, Shri Krishna, replied,
"0 king, please listen attentively as I describe the auspicious
influence of this holy fast day, which removes all sins. Narada Muni
once asked Lord Brahma about this same topic. '0 regent of all,' said
Naradaji, '0 you who sit upon a lotus throne, please tell me the name of
the Ekadashi that occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of
Sravana. Please also tell me which Deity is worshiped on that holy day,
the process one must follow to observe it, and the merit it awards.'
"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 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, four-armed Lord Gadadhara, who holds conch shell, disc, club
and lotus in His hands and who is also known as Shridhara, Hari, Vishnu,
Madhava, and Madhusudana. And the blessings achieved by a person who
worships Lord Vishnu exclusively are far greater than those achieved by
one who takes a sacred bath in the Ganges at Kasi [Varanasi], in the
forest of Naimisaranya, or at Puskara, where I am worshiped.' But one
who observes Kamika Ekadashi and also worships Lord Shri Krishna
achieves greater merit than one who has darsana of Lord Kedaranatha in
the Himalayas, or one who bathes at Kuruksetra during a solar eclipse,
or one who donates the whole earth in charity, including its forests and
oceans, or one who bathes in the Gandaki River or Godavari River on a
full moon day that falls on a Monday when Leo and Jupiter are conjoined.
" 'Observing Kamika Ekadashi bestows the same merit as
donating a milkcow and her calf, along with their feed. On this day,
whoever worships Lord Shridhara-deva, Vishnu, is glorified by the
demigods, Gandharvas, Pannagas, and Nagas.
"'Those who are
afraid of their past sins and completely immersed in sinful material
life should observe this best of Ekadashis according to their ability
and thus attain liberation. This Ekadashi is the purest of all days and
the most powerful for removing sins. 0 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 through the
night will never experience the anger of Yamaraja, death personified.
Whoever observes Kamika Ekadashi will not have to suffer future births,
and in the past many yogis who fasted on this day went to the spiritual
world. One should therefore follow in their auspicious footsteps and
strictly observe a fast on this Ekadashi.
"'Whoever worships
Lord 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. Whoever offers Shri Hari but a single leaf
from a tulasi tree attains as much merit as one who gives away in
charity two hundred grams of gold and eight hundred grams of silver. 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,
topaz, diamonds, lapis lazuli, sapphires, gomeda stones, cat's eye gems,
and coral. One who offers Lord Kesava newly grown manjaris from the
sacred tulasi plant gets rid of all the sins he has committed during
this or any other lifetime. Indeed, mere darsana 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 need never fear the
lord of death, Yamaraja. One who plants or transplants tulasi will
eventually reside with Lord Krishna in His own abode. To Shrimati
Tulasidevi, who awards liberation in devotional service, one should
therefore daily offer one's full obeisances.
"'Even
Citragupta, Yamaraja's secretary, cannot calculate the merit obtained by
one who offers Shrimati 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
Krishna on this day ascend to the heavenly planets and drink nectar
there. Whoever offers either 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 sungod, with a body as bright as ten million lamps. 12
"0
Yudhisthira," Lord Shri Krishna concluded, "these were the words Lord
Brahma spoke to Narada Muni concerning the incalculable glories of
Kamika Ekadashi, which removes all sins. This sacred day nullifies even
the sin of killing a brahmana or of killing an unborn child in the womb,
and it promotes one to the spiritual world by making one supremely
meritorious Whoever hears these glories of Kamika Ekadashi with faith
becomes free of all sins and returns home, back to Vishnu-loka."
Thus ends the narration of the glories of the ShrAvaNa-kRshNa EkAdasii, or KAmikA EkAdasii, from the Brahma-Vaivarta PurANa.
