Mokshada Ekadashi () is a Hindu holy day, which falls on the 11th lunar day (

ekadashi Ekadashi () is the eleventh lunar day (''tithi'') of the waxing (''Shukla Paksha, Shukla Pakṣa)'' and waning (''Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa)'' lunar cycles in a Hindu calendar, Vedic calendar month. Ekadashi is popularly observed within Vaishnavism one ...

) of the fortnight of the waxing moon in the

Hindu month The Hindu calendar, also called Panchanga (), is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adop ...

Margashirsha Agrahayana or Margashirsha, ( or ), is the ninth month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, ''Agrahayana'' is also the eight month of the year, beginning on 16 November and ending on 15 December. Margashirsha means relat ...

(Agrahayana), corresponding to November–December. Hindus, particularly

Vaishnavas Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

, observe a 24-hour fast in honour of the deity

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, an

avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

. Mokshada Ekadashi is an auspicious day dedicated to worship of Vishnu for liberation from sins, and to achieve

moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

(liberation) after death. It is celebrated on the same day as

Gita Jayanti Gita Mahotsav (), Gita Jayanti, also known as Mokshada Ekadashi or Matsya Dvadashi is a Hindu observance that marks the day the ''Bhagavad Gita'' dialogue occurred between Arjuna and Krishna on the battlefield of ''Kurukshetra''. It is celebra ...

, the day when Krishna gave the holy sermon of the ''

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

'' to

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

, as described in the Hindu epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

''. The 700-verse ''Bhagavad Gita'' told at the beginning of the climactic

Mahabharata war The Kurukshetra War (), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu epic poem ''Mahabharata'', arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. ...

between the Pandavas and their cousins, the

Kauravas ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his ...

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra () is a city and administrative headquarters of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Puranas ...

, deals with a variety of Hindu philosophical ideas.

Legend

The legend about Mokshada Ekadashi is narrated by the god Krishna to the Pandava King

Yudhishthira Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...

in the

Brahmanda Purana The ''Brahmanda Purana'' () is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text is also referred in medieval Indian literature as th ...

and the

Padma Purana The ''Padma Purana'' (, or ) is one of the eighteen Puranas#Mahapuranas, Major Puranas, a genre of texts in Hinduism. It is an encyclopedic text, named after the lotus in which creator god Brahma appeared, and includes large sections dedic ...

. Once, a saintly king called

Vaikhanasa Vaikhanasa () or Vaikhanasagama () is a tradition of Hinduism that primarily worships Vishnu (and his associated avatars) as the Supreme God. The tradition draws its name from the philosophy propounded by its founder, Sage Vikhanasa. Vaikhana ...

ruled in the city of Champaka. One night, the king had a dream, where he saw his

forefathers An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...

being tormented in

Naraka Naraka () is the realm of hell in Indian religions. According to schools of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, ''Naraka'' is a place of torment. The word ''Neraka'' (modification of ''Naraka'') in Indonesian language, Indonesian and Malaysian langu ...

(Hell) who begged the king to liberate them. The king was highly anguished and related this nightmare to the

Brahmins Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

of his council the next day. He sought their advice as to how to free his ancestors from tortures of Naraka, and grant them

(salvation). The council advised the king to approach the omniscient saint, Parvata Muni (sage of the mountain). The sage meditated and found the reason for the hellish torture of the king's father. He stated that his father had committed the sin of not fulfilling his sexual duty to his wife while she was ovulating, choosing to visit a village instead. As a solution to rectify the situation, the sage suggested to the king to observe ''

vrata Vrata is a Sanskrit word that means "vow, resolve, devotion", and refers to pious observances such as Fasting#Hinduism, fasting and pilgrimage (Tirtha (Hinduism), Tirtha) found in Indian religions such as Hinduism and Jainism. It is typically ...

'' (vow) of the Mokshada Ekadashi day. On Moksha Ekadashi, the king observed the vrata with a complete fast along with his wife, children, and relatives with full faith and devotion. The king's religious merit (obtained from the vrata) pleased the

devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

Svarga Svarga (, ), also known as Swarga, Indraloka and Svargaloka, is the celestial abode of the devas in Hinduism. Svarga is one of the seven higher lokas ( esoteric planes) in Hindu cosmology. Svarga is often translated as heaven, though it is reg ...

, who carried the king's father to their heaven. Mokshada Ekadashi is compared with the chintamani, the gem that yields all desires. Special merit is said to be achieved by the vrata, by which one can elevate someone from hell to heaven, or attain salvation himself.

Practices

The complete fast from sunrise on Mokshada Ekadashi to the dawn the next day is observed. People who cannot fast for that period observe a partial fast. Only vegetarian food, especially fruits, vegetables, milk products and nuts, are consumed. Eating rice, beans, pulses, garlic, and onions is prohibited on this day. Like most ekadashis, the rites involve worship and prayers to Vishnu. On this day, the avatar Krishna is also worshipped. Devotees properly observing the fast are believed to attain moksha after death.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite book, last= Melton , first= J. Gordon , title= Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations , url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lD_2J7W_2hQC&q=Putrada+Ekadashi&pg=PA722 , access-date=22 November 2012, year=2011, publisher= ABC-CLIO , isbn=9781598842050, page=585 Ekadashi Hindu holy days November observances December observances Hindu festivals

Legend

Practices

See also

References

Bibliography