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Shatilla Ekadashi Vrat Katha -
- Ekadashi Vrat Kathas

Shatilla Ekadashi Vrat Katha

The Story or Katha of this Shattila Ekadashi Vrat is as follows:

Sri Dalbhya Rishi told Pulatsya Muni, "When a soul comes in contact with material energy, it immediately starts performing sinful activities like stealing, killing and forbidden sex. It does many other heinous acts like killing .Brahman. O purest personality, kindly tell me how those unfortunate souls can escape the punishment of being sent to the hellish regions of creation. Tell me how by donating even a little in charity, one can easily be freed from the reactions of his sins;

Pulastya Muni replied, "O fortunate one, you have asked me an important and confidential question which even Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva or Indra have never asked. Listen to my answer very carefully. "On the arrival of the month of Magh (January-February) one should bathe, carefully restrain one's senses, giving up lust, anger, pride, jealousy, guilt and greed, and meditate on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri. Krishna. Then one should collect cow dung before the earth touches and after mixing with sesame seeds and cotton make 108 balls. This should be done on the day when the constellation Purva-ashadha nakshatra arrives. Then the rules and regulations of Sri Ekadashi should be followed which I am now explaining to you."After bathing, the person who intends to observe Ekadasi should worship the Supreme Lord. If he prays to Sri Krishna chanting His holy name, he should promise to observe the Ekadasi fast. He should stay awake during the night and perform a homa (fire sacrifice). The devotee should then perform the arati ceremony for the pleasure of the Lord - who holds a conch, disk, club, etc. - offering Him sandalwood paste on His feet, incense, camphor, a glowing ghee lamp and delicious food preparations. Next, the worshiper should offer 108 bales of cow dung, sesame seeds and cotton to the holy fire while chanting such holy names of the Lord as in Purusha sukta and other names. He should also observe the standard Ekadasi vrata (fasting, which in this case is fasting from all kinds of grains and beans) throughout the day and night. In this context, pumpkin, coconut and guava should be offered to the Lord. If these products are not available, betel nut can be substituted. "A teacher should pray to Lord Sri Janardana, the benefactor of all living entities, as follows: "O Lord Sri Krishna, you are the most merciful Personality of Godhead and the liberator of all fallen souls. Lord, we have fallen into the ocean of material existence. Be merciful to us. O lotus-eyed deity, accept our most humble, tender and respectful obeisance. O protector of the whole world, again and again we offer you our humble reverence. O Supreme Spirit, O Supreme, O source of all our ancestors, you and your eternal consort Srimati Lakshmi-devi accept these humble offerings.'

"The devotee should then try to give a qualified Brahmin a warm welcome, a pot full of water (purna kumbha), an umbrella, a pair of shoes and clothes (cloth - dhoti and anga vastra) while asking him to give his blessing to develop insatiable love for Lord Sri Krishna, according to his authority, a black cow can also be given to such a Brahmin, especially one who is well versed in the precepts of all the Vedic scriptures. He should also be offered a handful of sesame seeds. "O exalted one. Dalbhya Muni, black sesame seeds are especially suitable for formal worship and a fire offering, white or brown though, is intended for a qualified Brahmin to eat. Whoever is able to give both the sesame seeds (black and white or brown), especially on this day of Sat-tila Ekadasi, will be promoted at least to the heavenly planets, after the demise of the present body, for as many thousands of years as there are from the seeds that would be born if his donated seeds were planted in the soil and grew into mature seed-bearing plants. On this Ekadashi, a devotee must: (1) bathe in water mixed with sesame seeds, (2) rub sesame paste on the body, (3) offer sesame seeds to the fire, eat sesame seeds, (5) give sesame seeds in charity, (6) accept charitable donations of sesame seeds. These are the six (sat) ways in which sesame seeds (tila) are used for spiritual purification on this Ekadashi. Hence it is called Shat-tila Ekada.

"The great Devarishi Narad Muni once asked the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna, "O mighty armed Lord, oh! You who are so kind to your loving devotees, accept my humblest obeisances. O Yadava, please tell me what result is obtained by observing Shat-tila Ekadasi. "Lord Sri Krishna replied, "O Best Of twice-born Brahmins, I will tell you the story of an incident which I personally witnessed. Long ago there lived on earth an old Brahmin woman who daily worshiped Me with controlled senses. He very faithfully observed many fasts, especially on special days when I was honored (Janmasthami, Rama-navami, Vaman Dwadasi, Nrisimha Chaturdasi, Varaha Dwadasi, Gaura Purnima etc.) and served Me with complete devotion without any personal motive. The severe fasting made him quite weak and emaciated. He gave charity to Brahmins and young maidens ( kanyas ) and even intended to donate his house to charity. The best of the Brahmins, although this spiritually inclined woman gave charitable gifts to deserving people, a peculiar feature of her austerity was that she never gave food to Brahmins or devas (demigods). ""I began to ponder this strange omission: "This beautiful lady has purified herself by fasting on all auspicious occasions and offering me strict devotional service. Therefore she is certainly entitled to my private residence, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people." So I came to this planet to study her and disguised myself as a follower of Lord Shiva with a garland of skulls scattered around my neck, and begging bowl (kumandalu) in my hand. "When I approached her, she said to me: "O venerable one, tell me frankly why you have come before me." I replied: "O beautiful one, I have come to ask you for a holy alms", after which she threw me at my supplication angrily a thick patch of mud, leaving me at the strange behaviour of this excellent Brahmin with great generosity and holiness." "At last this austere woman attained the world of the spirit in the same body, so great were her efforts in fasting .and charity.And since she really offered me a piece of mud, I turned that mud into a beautiful home. However, O Naradaji, that house was just like that mud, without fruit, furniture or ornaments, and when she entered she found only an empty building. Therefore she came to Me and in great anger said: "I fasted several times on so many good occasions, making my body weak and emaciated. I worshiped and prayed to You in so many different ways, because You are truly the master and protector of all the universes. Despite that this home has neither food nor wealth; please tell me why, O Janardana "" I replied, "Go back to your home." After a while the wives of the devas (demigods) will come to you out of curiosity to see the new arrival, but do not open your door until they tell you about the glory and importance of Sat-tila Ekadasi.” Hearing this she returned to her home. At last the wives of the devas arrived there and said in unison: "O beautiful one, we have come to have your darshan. O auspicious one, please open the door of your house and let us see you." She replied, "O dear friends, if you want me to open this door, you must describe to me the merits one will receive by observing the holy fast of Shat-tila Ekadasi." But not a single wife responded to this prayer.“But later they returned to the house and one of the husbands beautifully explained the sublime nature of this holy Ekadasi. And when she finally opened her door, they saw that she was not a demigoddess, a Gandharvi, a female demon, or even a Naga-patni. She was just an ordinary human woman. "Then the lady followed the Sat-tila Ekadashi, which at the same time rewards all material pleasure and liberation as it was described to her.

And finally she got the beautiful furniture and fruit she was waiting for. Furthermore, her once ordinary material body was transformed into a beautiful spiritual form made of sac-cid-ananda (eternity, knowledge and bliss). Thus, by the grace and mercy of Shat-tila Ekadasi, both the lady and her new home in the spirit world finally became bright and glittering with gold, silver, jewels and diamonds. "Oh, Naradaji, one should not openly observe Ekadashi out of greed, in the dishonest hope of wealth. Selflessly, one should simply donate sesame seeds, clothes and food according to one's ability, for in this way one attains good health and a high spiritual level. .awareness of birth to birth.' Finally, he is freed from the shackles of this world (liberation) and access to the supreme abode of the Lord is at his disposal. This is my opinion, O best of the best demigods in deva-rishis. "O Dalbhya Muni," Pulastya Rishi concluded, "one who observes this wonderful Shat-tila Ekadasi with great faith will be freed from all poverty - mental, spiritual, physical, social and spiritual - and from all diseases. Observance of this Ekadashi fast by donating, offering or eating sesame seeds will definitely absolve one of all past sins. There is no need to wonder as tp how this happens. The rare soul who performs these acts just out of love in the right devotional mood, following the Vedic injunctions, becomes completely free from all sinful reactions and returns to God's home in the spiritual world."

Thus ends the description of the glories of Magh-krishna Ekadasi or Shat-tila Ekadasi by Srila Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa of the holy Bhavishya-uttara Purana.

So friends, here ends the story and other details regarding the Shattila Ekadashi Vrat. I hope you liked this video, and if you did like it, then please hit the like button and also subscribe to this channel, if you haven't done so already.

I wish all of you the successful and joyful observance of all the Ekadashis and i pray that Lord Vishnu's and Lord Krishna's blessings be upon all of us.

Advaita

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