Utpanna Ekadashi fasting story

 Utpanna Ekadashi fasting story

Soot ji started saying – O sages! The story and origin of this fast was told by Lord Krishna to his great devotee Yudhishthira in ancient times. That's what I tell you.

Once Yudhishthira had asked the Lord that by what method the Ekadashi fast is done and what is the result of it. Please tell me the action that is done on the day of fasting. Hearing this word, Shri Krishna started saying - O Yudhishthira! I tell you the importance of fasting on Ekadashi. Listen.

First of all, this fast is started from Margashirsha Krishna Ekadashi in Hemant season. On Dashami, after the evening meal, datun well so that no part of the food remains in the mouth. Never eat food at night, do not talk too much. On the day of Ekadashi, first of all, after getting up at 4 in the morning, make the resolution of the fast. After this, take a bath with pure water after retiring from defecation etc. One who observes the fast should not talk to a thief, a hypocrite, a slanderer, a slanderer, a liar and a sinner of any kind.

After bath, worship God with sixteen things like incense, lamp, naivedya etc. and donate lamp at night. One should not sleep or have sex at night. Bhajan-Kirtan etc. should be done throughout the night. Those who have committed sins in the past knowingly or unknowingly, one should ask for their forgiveness. The pious men should consider the Ekadashis of both Krishna and Shukla Paksha equal.

Those who observe the Ekadashi fast according to the above mentioned method, the result obtained by taking a bath in the Shankhoddhar shrine and having darshan of the Lord is not equal to the sixteenth part of the Ekadashi fast. Donating charity on the day of Vyatipat has a million fold results. The virtue obtained by bathing and donating four lakh times from Sankranti and during the solar-moon eclipse is obtained by fasting on the day of Ekadashi.

One hundred times by performing Ashwamedha Yagya and ten times by feeding one lakh ascetics for sixty years, ten times by offering food to ten brahmins or hundred brahmacharis, one thousand times by donating virtuous land. A thousand times more merit than that is obtained by donating a daughter. Even ten times more virtue than this is achieved by donating education. The virtue of giving food to the hungry is ten times more than by giving education. There is no such act in this world like the donation of food, which satisfies both the gods and the ancestors, but the virtue of fasting on Ekadashi is the highest.

Its result is more than a thousand sacrifices. The effect of this fast is rare even to the deities. One who eats at night gets half the fruit of fasting and one who eats once a day also gets half the fruit. While the greatness of one who observes a waterless fast, even gods cannot describe it.

Yudhishthira started saying that O Lord! You did not even equate thousands of sacrifices and lakhs of cow donations to Ekadashi fasting. So how did this date become better than all the dates, tell me.

Lord started saying - O Yudhishthira! A demon named Mur was born in the golden age. He was very strong and terrible. That fierce demon defeated all the gods like Indra, Aditya, Vasu, Vayu, Agni etc. and drove them away. Then all the deities including Indra got frightened and told the whole story to Lord Shiva and said, O Kailashpati! All the deities have gone back to the world of death, being frightened by the mortal demon. Then Lord Shiva said - O gods! Take refuge in Lord Vishnu, the Lord of the three worlds, the destroyer of the sorrows of the devotees.

He alone can take away your sorrows. Hearing such words of Shiva, all the gods reached Kshirsagar. Seeing God sleeping there, with folded hands started praising him that O Lord, worthy of praise by the gods! Salutations to you again and again, Madhusudan, the protector of the gods! Greetings to you. You protect us. Fearing the demons, we all have come under your shelter.

You are the creator, parent, originator and maintainer and destroyer of this world. He is the giver of peace to all. You are the sky and the underworld. Brahma, the sun, the moon, the fire, the material, the home, the offering, the mantra, the tantra, the chanting, the host, the yagya, the karma, the doer, the enjoyer are you. You are omnipresent. Except you, there is nothing variable and constant in the three worlds.

O Lord! The demons have corrupted us from heaven by conquering us and all of us gods are running here and there, you protect us all from those demons.

Hearing such words of Indra, Lord Vishnu started saying that O Indra! Who is such an elusive demon who has conquered all the gods, what is his name, how much strength is there in him and in whose shelter and where is his place? Tell all this to me.

Hearing such words of God, Indra said - Lord! In ancient times, there was a demon named Nadijangha and he had a son named Mur, the great mighty and popularly known. He has a city named Chandravati. He has taken out all the deities from heaven and has established his authority there. He has captured the place of Indra, Agni, Varuna, Yama, Vayu, Ish, Moon, Nairut etc.

Being the sun, it illuminates itself. He himself has become a cloud and is most invincible. O Asura Nikandan! Make the gods invincible by killing the evil one.

Hearing this word, the Lord said - O gods, I will destroy him soon. You go to the city of Chandravati. Having said this, all the deities, including the Lord, left for the city of Chandravati. At that time, the demon Mur was roaring in the battlefield along with the army. Hearing his terrible roar, all the gods started running in fear in all four directions. When the Lord himself came to the battlefield, the demons ran on him with weapons, weapons and weapons.

God pierced them with his arrows like a snake. Many demons were killed. Only the peacock remained. He continued to fight with the Lord with impatience. Whatever sharp arrow the Lord used would prove to be a flower for him. His body disintegrated but he continued to fight. There was also a war between the two.

Their war continued for 10 thousand years but the peacock did not lose. Tired, Lord went to Badrikashram. There was a beautiful cave called Hemvati, where God entered inside to rest in it. This cave was 12 yojanas long and had only one entrance. Lord Vishnu slept there in the lap of Yoganidra.

The peacock also followed behind and, seeing the Lord sleeping, was ready to kill, when the Goddess with a radiant, radiant form appeared from the body of the Lord. The goddess defied the demon Mur, fought and put him to death immediately.

When Shri Hari got up from Yoganidra's lap, knowing everything, he told that Goddess that you were born on Ekadashi, so you will be worshiped in the name of Utpana Ekadashi. Your devotees will be those who are my devotees.