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Padmini Ekadashi - Vrat Katha
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Falls on: Purshotam maas (Adik mass) Sukla paksh
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Yudhisthir's question to Shri Krishna
Sutji said, hai Saunaka Rusiyo, Yudhisthir Maharaj asked, �Janardan, what is the name of the Ekadashi that occurs during the sukla paksh of Adik maas (extra month)? How does one observe it properly? Please narrate this to me�.
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Bhagwan Shri Krishna�s reply
The Purna Prushotam Bhagwan Shri Krishna, said, �Pandava, the meritorious Ekadashi that occurs during the sukla paksh of Adik maas (extra month is called Padmini. It is very auspicious. The fortunate soul who observes it with great determination and faith will return to My personal abode. This Adik maas Ekadashi is as powerful as I am in nullifying sins. Even four-headed Brahma cannot glorify it sufficiently. Long ago Brahma told Narad about this liberating, sin-removing Ekadashi�.
Kamal-nain, Bhagwan Shri Krishna became very pleased by the inquiry of Yudhisthir and spoke to him the following pleasing words: �Yudhisthir, please listen carefully as I narrate to you the process of fasting on Padmini Ekadashi, which is rarely done even by great Rushis�.
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�One should begin his fast on Dasami, the day before Ekadashi, by not eating any urad dal, pink dal, chickpeas, spinach, honey or sea salt and also by not dining in the homes of others or in bell-metal plates. These eight things should be avoided. One should eat only once on Dasami, sleep on the ground and remain celibate.�
On the day of vrat
�On Ekadashi, the devotee should rise early in the morning but should not brush his teeth. Then he should thoroughly bathe-in a place of pilgrimage, if possible. While chanting sacred Mantras from the Veds, he should smear his body with cow dung mixed with clay, sesame-seed paste, kusa grass and the powder of amalaki fruits. Then the devotee should take another thorough bath, after which he should chant the following prayers:�
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Prayer
A. �0 pavitra clay, you have been created by Brahma, purified by Kasyap Muni and lifted by Bhagwan Krishna in His form as Varaha Avatar, (the boar incarnation). 0 clay, please purify my head, eyes and other limbs. 0 clay, I offer my obeisances unto you. Kindly purify me so I may worship Bhagwan Hari�.
B. �0 cow-dung, you possess medicinal and antiseptic qualities because you have come directly from the stomach of our universal mother, the cow. You can purify the entire planet earth. Please accept my humble obeisances and purify me.�
C. �0 amalaki fruits, please accept my humble obeisances. You have taken your birth from the saliva of Brahma and thus by your very presence the entire planet is purified. Kindly cleanse and purify my bodily limbs.�
D. �Hai Purna Prushotam Bhagwan Vishnu, hai Dev-vo-ke dev, hai Jagat ke Swami, hai Shankh Chakra, Gadha and Padma dari, please allow me to bathe in all the holy places of pilgrimage.�
�Reciting these excellent prayers, chanting mantras to Varun Dev and meditating on all the places of pilgrimage located on the banks of the Ganga, one should bathe in whatever body of water is at hand�.
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Then, �Yudhisthir, the devotee should rub his body, thus purifying his mouth, back, chest, arms and waist as a prelude to worshiping the Purna Prushotam, who wears brilliant yellow garments and gives pleasure to all creatures. By so doing, the devotee will destroy all his sins. Afterwards, he should chant the sacred Gayatri mantra, offer oblations to his forefathers and then enter a Vishnu temple to worship Shri Narayan, the husband of Laksmi-devi�.
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