Story of Saphala Ekadashi Vrat
Listening to the fasting story of Mokshada Ekadashi, Arjuna was pleased and said- “O Kamalnayan! I am blessed to hear the fasting story of Mokshada Ekadashi. O Madhusudan! Now please please tell me the glory of Ekadashi of Krishna Paksha of Pausha month. That Ekadashi what is the name of, which god is worshiped on that day and what is the law of his fast? Please tell me all this in detail, while blessing me.
Hearing the curiosity of Arjuna, Shri Krishna said- “O Kunti son! Because of your love I answer your questions in detail. Now listen to the glory of this Ekadashi fast- O Partha! Pleased to Lord Vishnu through this Ekadashi soon. You can go. Ekadashi of Krishna Paksha of Pausha month is called ‘Safala’. The deity of this Ekadashi is Narayana. On this day, one should worship reverently according to the method of Shriman Narayanji. O Pandunandan! Know this as true. Sheshnag among serpents, Surya-moon in Garuda planets in birds, Ashwamedha in yagnas and Lord Vishnu are superior in gods, similarly Ekadashi fasting in fasts is superior. O Arjuna! The person fasting on Ekadashi is very dear to Lord Shrihari. In Ekadashi, one should worship Lord Narayana by offering lemon, coconut, naivedya, etc. The virtue of which one gets from doing austerities for five thousand years, the same virtue is attained by fasting for the Safala Ekadashi along with the revered night awakening.
Hey son of kunti now listen carefully to the story of Safala Ekadashi-
In ancient times, a king named Mahishman ruled in the city of Champawati. He had four sons. His eldest son named Lumpak was a monk and evil
He always used to spend his father’s money in the movement of women and prostitutes. He used to be very happy by condemning the deities, Brahmins, Vaishnavites etc. All the people were deeply saddened by his misdeeds, but being crown prince, everyone was silently forced to bear his atrocities and no one had the courage to complain to the king, but evil would not remain in the curtain for long. One day King Mahishman came to know about Lumpak’s misdeeds. Then the king became extremely angry and drove Lumpak out of his kingdom. Lumpak was abandoned by the father as well as all others. Now he started thinking what should I do? Where to go? Finally he decides to steal the night in the father’s kingdom.
He stayed out of the state during the day and went to his father’s city at night and started stealing and other bad deeds. At night he would go and kill the residents of the city and torment him. In the forest he used to kill innocent animals and birds and devour them. Some night, even when he was caught stealing in the city, the guards would leave him for fear of the king. It is said that sometimes even inadvertently, the creature becomes an object of God’s grace. Something similar happened with Lumpak. The forest in which he lived was also very dear to the forest god. There was an ancient peepal tree in that forest and all people considered that forest to be the play-place of the deities. In the forest, Mahapapi Lumpak lived under the same peepal tree. A few days later, on the tenth day of the Krishna Paksha of Pausha month, Lumpak became unconscious due to the cold. He could not sleep at night due to the cold and his arms and legs swagger. The night passed with great difficulty, but his unconsciousness did not break even when the sun rose. He was lying.
The sinner remained untouched till the afternoon of Safala Ekadashi. When he got some heat from the heat of the sun, then in the afternoon he came to his senses and somehow got up from his place and started wandering in search of food in the forest. That day he was unable to hunt, so he went under the peepal tree carrying the fallen fruits on the earth. By then, Lord Surya had left Asthachal. Even after being hungry, he could not eat those fruits, because he used to kill the living creatures and eat their flesh. He did not like to eat the fruit at all, so he put those fruits near the root of the peepal and said sadly – ‘O God! This fruit is offered to you. You should be satisfied with these fruits. Saying this, he started crying and he could not sleep at night. He kept crying all night. Thus Ekadashi fasted inadvertently from that sinner. Lord Srihari was very happy with this fast and night awakening of that great queen and all his sins were destroyed. Just before dawn, a divine chariot came decorated with many beautiful things and stood in front of it. At the same time, there was a voice in the air – ‘Hey Yuvraj! All your sins have been destroyed by the influence of Lord Narayana, now go to your father and get the kingdom. ‘
When Lumpak heard this Akashvani, he said very pleased – ‘Lord! Hail to you!’ Having said this, he put on beautiful clothes and then went to his father. On reaching the father, he narrated the whole story to the father. After hearing all the accounts from the mouth of the son, the father immediately handed over his entire kingdom to the son and went into the forest himself. Now Lumpak began to rule according to scripture. His wife, son etc. also became supreme devotees of Shri Vishnu. Upon reaching old age, he handed over the kingdom to his son and went into the forest to worship God and finally attained the highest rank. Hey Parth! All the sins of those who faithfully and devoutly fast for this Safala Ekadashi are destroyed and finally salvation is attained. Hey Arjun! Those who do not understand the significance of this Safala Ekadashi, they should consider it as an animal devoid of tails and horns. By reading or listening to the greatness of Safala Ekadashi, the creature gets the same fruits as Rajasuya Yagya. “
Synopsis
The story of this Safala Ekadashi makes us realize that God is very kind. If a person ignorantly remembers the Lord, he gets the full fruit. If humans ask for forgiveness of their sins with a low price, then God forgives even his greatest sins. Mahapapi like Lumpak too became the officer of Vaikuntha by the grace of Lord Shrihari.
Saphala Ekadashi Date and Timings
In 2021, Saphala Ekadashi Vrat is to held on two dates ie on 9th January, 2021 and 30th December, 2021.
On 9th January, 2021
Ekadashi Tithi Begins – 09:40 PM on Jan 08, 2021
Ekadashi Tithi Ends – 07:17 PM on Jan 09, 2021
On 30th December, 2021
Ekadashi Tithi Begins – 04:12 PM on Dec 29, 2021
Ekadashi Tithi Ends – 01:40 PM on Dec 30, 2021