Story Behind Kamada Ekadashi & Importance.
Story Behind Kamada Ekadashi & Importance.
Keeping fast on Ekadashi removes your past sins and makes you a wise person.
There are 18 Puranas(Hindu Holy Books), and “Brahm Vaivat Puran” is one of them.
Story of Kamada Ekadashi can be found in "Varah Puran."
Before we move on to the story of Kamada Ekadashi, let me share a Krishna Shloka with you.
मूकं करोति वाचालं पङ्गुं लङ्घयते गिरिम् |
यत्कृपा तमहं वन्दे परमानन्दमाधवम् || ||
Mūkaṃ karoti vāchalaṃ Paṃguṃ laṃghayate giri |
Yat kṛupā tamahaṃ vande Paramānanda mādhavam||
Meaning of the shloka
Mūkaṃ karoti vāchalaṃ — Because of your blessings, the dumb can start speaking.
Paṃguṃ laṃghayate Giri — A lame person can climb mountains because you are the strength.
Yat kṛupā tamahaṃ vande — We are fearless and happy because of your blessings.
Paramānanda mādhavam — I bow down to you and pray because you are the extreme joy.
Kamada Ekadashi Story
Once, conversations were going on between Lord Shri Krishna and Emperor Yudhisthira.
Yudhishthira asked Lord Shri Krishna, Hey Yadhuvansh Shiromani(Lord Of Shri Yaduvansh dynasty), please explain the importance of Kamada Ekadashi and the benefits of fasting on Ekadashi.
Lord Shri Krishna answered with his signature smile.
While he was speaking, it looked like honey was dropping from his mouth.
He said, On the eleventh day in full moon phases nights, known as shukla Paksha, Ekadashi is celebrated as Kamada Ekadashi.
Guru Vashisth narrated Kamada Ekadashi's story to Emperor Dilip(from Sun Dynasty), and Lord Rama took birth in his family.
Many years back, Emperor Pundrik used to rule a kingdom called Ratanpur.
His kingdom was blessed with gold, diamonds, and many other valuable assets. Citizens were happy and blessed in his kingdom. Ratanpur's kingdom had citizens like Gandharva(Celestial musician) and Kinnars(Neutral Gender).
Lalit, a Gandharva, lived in Ratanpur with his wife, Lalita.
He was a blessed singer, and his wife was a trained dancer.
They used to live happily as a family and couldn't live without each other for a moment.
On one auspicious day, Pundrik, the Emperor of Ratanpur, organized a function. He called on all the best singers from his kingdom and invited all the best dancers.
Gandharva singer Lalit and his dancer wife Lalita were also one of the apparent invitees. Gandharva Lalit reached the venue in time and started performing when his turn came up. His wife Lalita couldn't get to the performance place for some reason. Lalit got frustrated when he noticed that his wife had not reached the site yet.
King couldn't make out frustration in Lalit's voice, but one serpent sitting in the hall noticed the disappointment in Lalit's singing. Like many people in the dire watch to look out for your mistakes, the snake took this opportunity to take out Lalit's mistakes. He complained about Gandharva Lalit's singing mistakes and frustration with the King.
King got angry about Lalit's attention on his wife instead of on the function. He found himself guilty of appointing Lalit for singing at a function. He cursed Gandharva Lalit with anger to become the devil and human eater. King then asked Lalit to leave the function hall immediately.
Gandharva Lalit became the devil at the exact moment. His hands became so big that they could reach anyone up to eight miles. His body looked like a mountain. His eyes were looking red — like blood. His nails looked like big stones in the forest. His whole body was almost sixty-four miles in size.
King went back to his palace after the incident, but when Lalit's wife Lalita came to know about the sad incident, she cried a lot.
Looking and finding his husband in trouble, she started thinking about her duties. She, too, began to roam around in a forest along with her devil husband.
While roaming in the deep forest with her husband, she went to Mand mountain range, where she met Rishi Shringi(Saint Shringi). She bowed down to Rishi Shringi and asked for guidance. Guru Shringi inquired about her and her husband.
Lalita said, in a weeping voice, I am a daughter of great Gandharva Vrindavan. She narrated the whole story behind her husband's curse. She requested Guru Shringi to help her.
Guru Shringi said emotionally, O! My dear Daughter, Kamada Ekadashi coming up in a couple of days. Keep fast on the coming Kamada Ekadashi and pray for your husband.
Gandharva's wife, Lalita, did what Guru Shringi asked her to do.
She followed the fast on the Kamada Ekadashi, and on the very next day, while breaking the Kamada Ekadashi fast, she prayed wholeheartedly for her husband. She transferred all the benefits she might have got through keeping Kamada Ekadashi fast to her husband, as suggested by Guru Shringi.
As soon as she prayed and transferred all her good deeds to her husband, Gandharva Lalit returned to his original body. They both prayed and followed Ekadashi for the rest of their lives and received the blessing.
How to keep Kamada Ekadashi Fast
Fasting hard and eating nothing is not the only way to keep Kamada Ekadashi. It would be best to keep your soul free from committing any future sins. All your senses should be invested in Lord Krishna's prayer and love.
Start your day with a prayer — get up early — possibly before sunrise.
You can tell your reasons behind keeping Kamada Ekadashi to Lord Krishna. He listens to us all the time. I am sure he will listen to you as well.
Please make sure not to eat grains, but you can eat fruits, dry fruits, or drink milk if you feel hungry.
We treat cow milk as a vegan and not non-vegan food because we treat cows like our mother.
You can keep chanting any Krishna Mantra you like for the whole day or whenever you get time on Kamada Ekadashi.
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