🌻 Kamada Ekadashi Puja Vidhi🌻
- Get up early in the morning and take a bath.
- Wear clean clothes.
- Meditate on Lord Vishnu.
- Take a vow to fast.
- Spread a clean cloth on a wooden stool.
- Install an idol or picture of Lord Vishnu.
- Offer Akshat, turmeric, sandalwood, flowers, yellow sandalwood, gram flour laddu, kheer or any other sweet to the Lord.
- Light a ghee lamp and perform Aarti.
- Chant Vishnu Chalisa and mantras.
- Pray to Lord Vishnu for happiness and peace.
- Offer food to Lord Vishnu and distribute prasad among people.
- Light a ghee lamp in front of Tulsi Mata in the evening.
- Listen to the story of Ekadashi.
- Keep a vigil for Lord Vishnu at night.
- Break the fast on Dwadashi.
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💐Story of Kamada Ekadashi💐
The Supreme Lord Hari, Bhagavan Sri Krishna, the son of Devaki and Vasudeva, is the object of my humble and reverent obeisances, said Sri Suta Goswami. It is through his compassion that I am able to narrate the fast day that purges all sins. Lord Krishna praised the twenty-four fundamental Ekadasis, which eradicate sin, to the devout Yudhisthira. I will now share one of those stories with you. Great-learned sages have chosen these twenty-four narrations from the eighteen Puranas because they are genuinely sublime.
“Oh Lord Krishna, oh Vasudeva, please accept my humble obeisances,” exclaimed Yudhishthira Maharaja. Please tell me about the Ekadasi that takes place in March and April, which is the light part of the month of Chaitra. What are its beauties, and what is its name?
In response, Lord Sri Krishna said, “Oh Yudhishthira, pay close attention as I tell you the ancient history of this sacred Ekadasi.” Vasishtha Muni had previously told King Dilipa, Lord Ramachandra’s great-grandfather, this history. “Oh wise brahmana, I would like to hear about the Ekadasi that occurs during the light part of the month of Chaitra,” King Dilipa said to the great philosopher Vasishtha. Tell me about it, please.
“Oh king,” said Vasishtha Muni, “your question is lovely. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them. Kamada Ekadasi is the name of the Ekadasi that takes place during the light fortnight of Chaitra. Just as a forest fire burns a stock of dry firewood, it devours all misdeeds. One who observes it faithfully receives the highest reward, and it is highly purifying.
Now, oh king, hear an old tale so meritorious that it atones for all faults simply by being heard. Now, oh king, listen to an old tale so meritorious that it atones for all faults simply by being heard. Then citizens adorned the city-state called Ratnapura with diamonds and gold, and snakes with sharp fangs reveled in drunkenness there.Then there was a city-state called Ratnapura, which was adorned with diamonds and gold and where snakes with sharp fangs would revel in drunkenness.
King Pundarika ruled this most beautiful kingdom, which had a large population of Gandharvas, Kinnaras, and Apsaras. Lalit and his wife Lalita, a particularly beautiful dancer, were among the Gandharvas. They had a lot of wealth and delicious food in their home, and they were quite drawn to one another. Lalita cherished her husband, and he thought of her in his heart all the time.
At one point, Lalit was singing by himself without his bride as a large group of Gandharvas danced at King Pundarika’s court. As he sang, he couldn’t help but think about her, and as a result, he became distracted and lost sight of the melody and meter of the song. Lalit did, in fact, sing the last line of his song incorrectly, and one of the jealous snakes present at the king’s court protested to the monarch that Lalit was preoccupied with his wife rather than his sovereign. Hearing this infuriated the monarch, and his eyes grew red with fury.
He suddenly yelled, “Oh stupid knave, I curse you to immediately become a cannibal because you lustfully thought of a woman instead of reverently thinking of your king while you performed your court duties!” A gigantic man-eating demon whose presence frightened everyone, Lalit instantly turned into a fearsome cannibal, oh king. A true mountain formed his neck, four miles wide spanned his hips, a massive cave matched the size of his mouth, the sun and moon mirrored the magnificence of his eyes, giant caves in the earth resembled his nose, eight miles long stretched his arms, and sixty-four miles high towered his colossal torso. As a result of his transgression against King Pundarika, poor Lalit, the devoted Gandharva singer, had to endure the consequences.
Lalita felt devastated seeing her husband in agony as a terrible cannibal. Lalita was devastated to see her husband in agony as a terrible cannibal. “Now that my beloved husband is enduring the consequences of the king’s curse, what will become of me?” she asked herself. What ought I to do? Where ought I to go?
Lalita grieved day and night in this manner. They forced her to roam the dense woods with her hideous husband, who had succumbed to the king’s curse and was fully involved in dreadful, immoral actions, rather than relishing life as a Gandharva wife. The once-beautiful Gandharva, now reduced to the hideous behavior of a man-eater, roamed fitfully throughout the forbidden area. Heartbroken by her beloved husband’s suffering in his terrible state, Lalita started crying as she watched his insane journey.
However, Lalita was fortunate enough to meet the sage Shringi one day. He perched atop the well-known Vindhyachala Hill. She went straight up to him and bowed her humble respects to the austere.
“Oh, most beautiful one, who are you?” the sage asked, observing her bending down before him. Why have you come here, and whose daughter are you? Please be honest with me about everything.
“Oh great sage,” Lalita retorted, “my name is Lalita, and I am the daughter of the great Gandharva Viradhanva.” King Pundarika has cursed my beloved spouse to become a man-eating demon, and together we wander the plains and woodlands. Oh Brahmana, I am very displeased to witness his fierce appearance and his egregiously immoral actions. Oh master, please explain to me how I might make amends for my husband. Oh finest of Brahmanas, what religious deed may I do to release him from this demonic form?
In response, the sage said, “Oh heavenly maiden, during the light fortnight of the month of Chaitra, you will find an Ekadasi called Kamada.” It will happen soon. The person who fasts on this day will fulfill all their desires. If you follow the guidelines for this Ekadasi fast and give your husband the merit you earn, he will immediately be released from the curse.
When the sage spoke these things, Lalita was ecstatic. Following the guidance of the sage Shringi, Lalita maintained the Kamada Ekadasi fast faithfully.On Dvadasi, she appeared before him and the Deity of Lord Vasudeva and declared, “I have faithfully observed the fast of Kamada Ekadasi.” I ask that you lift the curse that has made my husband a demoniac cannibal by virtue of the merit I have gained by keeping this fast. I hope that the merit I have earned would alleviate his suffering.
As soon as Lalita finished talking, the king instantly set her husband, who was standing close by, free from the curse.
He instantly assumed his former shape as the Gandharva Lalit, a dashing vocalist from heaven decked out in several exquisite decorations. He could live in even greater luxury now that he was married to Lalita. Kamada Ekadasi’s might and splendor made all of this possible. Kamada Ekadasi’s might and splendor made all of this possible. All of this was made possible by Kamada Ekadasi’s might and splendor. Finally, the Gandharva couple climbed into paradise on a celestial jet.
‘Oh Yudhishthira, best of monarchs, anyone who hears this lovely tale should definitely follow holy Kamada Ekadasi to the best of his ability, for the dedicated devotee receives such immense merit from it,’ said Lord Sri Krishna. For the sake of all people, I have thus told you about its splendors. Kamada Ekadasi is the best Ekadasi available. In addition to cleansing the awareness and nullifying demoniac curses, it can even eliminate the sin of killing a brhmana. There is never a greater day among living things, both immobile and mobile, in any of the three worlds.
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