MOKSHADA EKADASI-FORWARD MokshadaEkadasi is a very special Ekadasi -Auspicious day on which Lord Sri Krishna spoke the Srimad Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna onthe battlefield of Kurukshetra, at the place now known as Jyotisha tirtha.
Anyone who gifts a Bhagavad Gita away to adeserving person on this day is bestowed profuse blessings by the Sri KrishnaBhagavan. The AncientHistory of Mokshada Ekadasi from Brahmanda Purana: Yudhishthira Maharaj said, "O Vishnu,master of all, O delight of the threeworlds, O Lord of the entire Universe, O creator of the world, O oldestpersonality, O best of all beings, I offer my most respectful obeisances untoYou. "O Lord of lords, for the benefit of allliving entities, kindly answer some questions that I have.What is the name of the Ekadasi that occurs during the light fortnight of themonth of Margashirsha (November-December) and removes all sins? How does oneobserve it properly, and which Deityis worshipped on that holiest of days? O my Lord please explain this to me in full." Lord SriKrishna replied, "O dear Yudhishthira, your enquiry is very auspicious initself and will bring you fame. Just as I previously explained to you about thedearest Utpannaa Maha-Dwadasi - which occurs during the dark part of the month of Margashirsha, which is the daywhen Ekadasi-devi appeared from My body to kill the demon Mura,and which benefits everything animate and inanimate in the three worlds - so Ishall now relate to you regarding this Ekadasi that occurs during the light part of the month of Margashirsha. This Ekadasi is famous as Mokshadaa because it purifies the faithful devotee of all sinful reactions and bestows liberation uponhim. The worshippable Deity of this all auspicious day is Lord Damodara. With fullattention one should worship Him with incense, a ghee lamp, fragrant flowers,and Tulasi manjaris (buds). "O bestof saintly kings, please listen as I narrate to you the ancient and auspicioushistory of this wonderful Ekadasi. Simply by hearing this history one canattain the merit earned by performing a horse sacrifice. By the influence ofthis merit, one's forefathers, mothers, sons, and other relatives who have gone to hell canturn around and go to the heavenlykingdom. For thisreason alone, O king, youshould listen with rapt attention tothis narration. "Thereonce was a beautiful city named Champaka-nagar, which was decorated with devoted Vaishnavas. Therethe best of saintly kings MaharajVaikhaanasa, ruled overhis subjects as if they were his veryown dear sons and daughters. The brahminsin that capital city were all expert infour kinds of Vedik knowledge. The king, while ruling properly, had a dream onenight in which hisfather was seen to be suffering thepangs of hellish torture in one of the hellish planets ruled over by the Yamaraj. The king was overwhelmed with compassion for hisfather and shed tears. The next morning,Maharaj Vaikhaanasa described what he had seen in his dream to his council of twice born learned brahmins. 'Obrahmanas,' the king addressed them, 'in a dream last night I saw my fathersuffering on a hellish planet. He was crying out in anguish, "O son, please deliver me fromthis torment of this hellish condition !" Now I have no peacein my mind, and even this beautiful kingdom has become unbearable to me. Not even myhorses, elephants, and chariots and my vast wealth in my treasury that formerlybrought so much pleasure, gives me no pleasure at all. "'Everything, O best ofthe brahmins, even my own wife and sons, have become a source of unhappiness since I beheld my father sufferingthe tortures of that hellish conditionso. Where can Igo, and what can I do, O brahmins, toalleviate this misery? My body is burning with fear and sorrow ! Please tell me what kind ofcharity, what mode of fasting, whatausterity, or what deep meditation, and in service upon which Deity I may have to perform to deliver my fatherfrom that agony and bestow upon liberation upon my forefathers. O best amongthe brahmins, what is the use of one'sbeing a powerful son if one's father must suffer on a hellish planet?Truly, such a son's life is utterly useless, to him and to his forefathers. " Thetwice born brahmins replied, 'O king, in the mountainous forest not far from here is the ashram where a greatsaint Parvata Muni resides. Please go to him, for heis tri-kala-jnan (he knows the past, thepresent, and the future of everything) and can surely help you in your gainingrelief from your misery.' "Uponhearing this advice, the distressed king immediately set out on a journey tothe ashram of the famous sage Parvata Muni. The ashram was indeed very big andhoused many learned sages expert in chanting the sacred hymns of the four Vedas (Rg, Yajur, Sama, and Arthava). My note- During Dwaparayuga adharva veda wasrecited as per the above statement. Approachingthe holy ashram, the king beheld Parvata Muni seated among the assembly of sages adorned with hundredsof tilaks (from all the authorisedsampradayas) like anotherBrahmaa or Vyaas. "MaharajVaikhaanasa offered his humble obeisances to the muni, bowing his head and thenprostrating his entire body before him. After the king had seated himself amongthe assembly Parvata Muni asked him about the welfare of theseven limbs of his extensive kingdom (his ministers, his treasury, his militaryforces, his allies, the brahmins, the sacrificial offerings performed, and theneeds of his subjects). The munialso asked him if his kingdom was freeof troubles and whether everyone was peaceful, happy and satisfied. To these enquiries the king replied,'By your mercy O glorious and greatsage, all seven limbs of my kingdom are doing very well. Yet there is a problem that hasrecently arisen, and to solve it I havecome to you, O brahmana for your expert help and guidance'. "ThenParvata Muni, the best of all sages, closed his eyes and meditated on theking's past, present and future. After a few moments he opened his eyes andsaid, 'Your father issuffering the results of committing a great sin, and I have discovered what it is. In his previous lifehe quarrelled with his wife and forciblyenjoyed her sexually during her menstrual period. She tried toprotest and resist his advances and even yelled out, "Someone please saveme! Please, O husband, do not interrupt my monthly period in this way!" Still he did not stop or leave heralone. It is on accountof this grievous sin that your father now has fallen into such a hellish conditionof suffering.' "KingVaikhaanasa then said, 'O greatest among sages, by what process of fasting or charity may I liberate my dearfather from such a condition? Pleasetell me how I can relieveand remove the burden of his sinful reactions, which are a great obstacle tohis progress towards ultimaterelease (salvation - liberation - going back home).' My note- Kindly note- The pithru has to getsalvation, liberation "ParvataMuni replied, 'During thelight fortnight of the month of Margashirsha there occurs an Ekadasi called Mokshadaa. If youobserve this sacred Ekadasi strictly,with a full fast, and give directly to your suffering father the merit you thus attain/obtain, he will be freed from his pain and instantly liberated'. "Hearingthis, Maharaj Vaikhaanasa profusely thanked the great sage and then returned to his palace to perform hisvrata (austere rite). O Yudhishthira,when the light part of the month of Margashirsha at last arrived, MaharajVaikhaanasa faithfully waited for the Ekadasi tithi to arrive. He then perfectly and with full faith observed theEkadasi fast with his wife, children, and other relatives. He dutifullygave the merit from this fast to hisfather, and as he made the offering, beautiful flower petals showered down from the devas who peered outfrom behind the clouds in the sky. The king's father was then praised by the messengers of the demigods (devas) and escorted to the celestialregion. As he passedhis son, as he traversed the lower to middle to higher planets, the father saidto the king, 'My dear son,all auspiciousness unto you!' At last hereached the heavenly realm from where he can again with his newly acquired merit perform devotionalservice to Krishna or Vishnu and in duecourse return back to home back to Godhead. My note- Kindly note- the pithru goes to heaven.This only I am- writing about the performance of Gaya srardha. Oncehe goes to heaven, no hunger, so no further srardha required. "O son of Pandu, who so ever strictlyobserves the sacred Mokshadaa Ekadasi, following the established rules andregulations, achievesfull and perfect liberation after death.There is no better fasting day than thisEkadasi of the light fortnight of the month of Margashirsha, O Yudhishthira, for it is a crystal-clear andsinless day. Whoever faithfully observes this Ekadasi fast, which is like chintaa-mani (a gemthat yields all desires), obtains special merit that is very hard to calculate, for this day can elevate one fromhellish life to the heavenly planets, and for one who observes Ekadasi for hisown spiritual benefit, this elevates oneto go back to Godhead, never to return to this material world." Thus end the narration of the gloriesof Margashirsha- shukla Ekadasi or Mokshada Ekadasi, from the Brahmanda Purana. Subject - Ekadasi Alert: - Sat, 28th Nov 2009 Posted by:"G Balasubramanian" [email protected] gbsub Fri Nov 27, 20094:11 pm (PST) Mokshada Ekadasi from Bhavisya-uttara Purana -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/552399795.179152.1623743745532%40mail.yahoo.com.
