|| Jai Sriman Narayana ||
Brahma
Vaivarta Puranam describes the glories of Rama Ekadashi or Krishna Paksha
Ekadashi. Lord Krishna narrates the grandeur of Rama
Ekadashi to King Yudhishtira .
King
Muchukundha was a righteous ruler and a zealous devotee of Lord Sri Hari
. He was great ruler who always speaks the truth and follows
righteousness, therefore Lord Indra,
Lord Yama, Lord Varuna and King Vibhishana were his close associates.
His Kingdom and it people were blessed with perpetual peace and prosperity.
King Muchukundha had a daughter Chandrabhaga named after the sacred river
was married to Shobhana, Son of King Chandrasena. There was a custom
prevailed in the Kingdom of Muchukundha that the King's men will
inform the public about the forthcoming Ekadashi by beating drums and the
people in his kingdom should compulsorily follow the austerities of the same.
King Shobana with his wife Chandrabaga visited his father- In- law's
kingdom during the period of Ekadashi. King Shobana was surprised
to listen to the sounds of doldrums; he enquired his wife about the importance of
it. She explained the practice introduced by her father for reminding
the people of his Kingdom to observe the austerities of Ekadashi.
She explained that not only the people of their Kingdom but also the
birds and animals were not served with grains or water on the day of Eakadashi
as it was dedicated to the remembrance of Lord Sri Hari. King
Shobana was in a dilemma after listening to the thoughtful words of
Chandrabhaga. Unfortunately King Shobana was not in good health to
observe the austerities of Ekadashi, but he does not want to disgrace the
customs introduced by his father-In-law for several years. Finally,
he decided to observe the Ekadashi fast that resulted in a disastrous death of
him. King Muchukunda sorrowfully performed the funeral rites of his
son-in-law, soon his only daughter widower Chandrabaga moved with her father.
The
devoutness King Shobana had attained through the observance of Ekadashi made
him to take birth in a royal family and became the King of Mandarachala
Mountain that was the city of celestials flourished with rich natural resources.
His kingdom was decorated with precious ornament, gold and gems that have the
close resemblance of Vishwakarma's creation. King of Mandarachala had all
the luxuries in life and he was served by celestial dancers and singers all
around him.
One day a brahmin
Somasharma, who was a member of King Muchukunda's court happened to meet the
King of Mandarachala on his way to a pilgrim place. He immediately
realized that the King was none other than the son-in-law of King Muchukunda in
his previous birth. The Brahmin hurriedly approached the King with lot of
anxiety. The King of Mandarachala rose from his seat and paid
obeisance to the Brahmin. He enquired the well being of the
Brahmin, King Muchukunda, his chaste wife Chandrabhaga and the subjects of the
Kingdom. The Brahmin earnestly replied to all the queries of the King.
The King of Mandarachala described about how he had attained this
heavenly kingdom to rule as a merit of fasting on a Rama Ekadashi day.
He solemnly continued that the Celestial Kingdom may not survive for long
because he had observed the Rama Ekadashi without any faith or devotion.
He genuinely wanted to correct his past mistakes and appealed to
the Brahmin to inform the whole experiences to his chaste wife Chandrabaga.
The Brahmin returned to Chandrabhaga and informed her about King Shobana
and his celestial Kingdom which is brittle at any moment. Chandrabhaga
requested the Brahmin to guide her to reunite with her husband and to make his
Kingdom stable with all the intrinsic worth she had acquired by observance of
Ekadashi fasts in all her life. On the way to Mount Mandarachala they
visited Sage Vamadeva’s hermitage and Chandrabhaga explained her painful
stories to him. Sage Vamadeva
sprinkled holy water on Chandrabhaga followed with specific rites, shortly
Chandrabhaga transformed into a beautiful young woman decked in various
precious ornaments, raised to the
celestial Kingdom of King of Mandarachala, eventually, Chandrabhaga reunited with her husband with the blessings
of Sage Vamadeva and their Kindgom flourished with abundance of natural
resources until deluge.
Lord Krishna
continued, whoever observes Rama Ekadashi or listens to the glories of it with
utmost faith and dedication would be free from all the sins committed, even the
sin of Bhramahathya, and ultimately attain liberation from the cycles of birth
and death.
|| Jai Sriman Narayana ||
