Pavitraropani Ekadasi on 5.8.2025

Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja said, “O Madhūsudana, O slayer of the demon Madhu, I entreat thee to be merciful unto me and to describe the Ekādaśī that falleth during the bright fortnight of the month of Śrāvaṇa (July–August).”

The Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, replied, “Indeed, O king, I shall with joy narrate its glories unto thee, for by merely hearing of this sacred Ekādaśī, one acquireth the merit of performing a horse-sacrifice.

“At the dawn of Dvāpara-yuga there lived a king named Mahījita, who ruled the realm of Māhīṣmatī-purī. Being without a son, his entire kingdom seemed utterly cheerless unto him; for a married man who is sonless findeth no true happiness in this world or the next. For a long time the king strove diligently to obtain an heir, yet all his efforts were in vain. As the years advanced relentlessly, King Mahījita grew ever more anxious. One day he addressed an assembly of his counsellors:

‘I have committed no sin in this life, nor is there any ill-gotten wealth in my treasury. I have never usurped the offerings due unto the demigods or the brāhmaṇas. In my conquests of other realms, I have scrupulously observed the rules and ordinances of the military art, and I have ever protected my subjects as though they were my own children. I have punished even my own kin if they transgressed the law, and if mine enemy was gentle and righteous, I received him with honour. O twice-born ones, although I have been a devout and faithful follower of the Vedic ordinances, yet my house remaineth without a son. Deign to tell me the cause of this misfortune.’

“Hearing these words, the king’s brāhmaṇa advisers conferred among themselves. Seeking the king’s welfare, they journeyed to the hermitages of various great sages. At length they encountered a sage who was austere, pure, and self-satisfied, and who was strictly observing a vow of fasting. His senses were wholly under control; he had mastered his anger and was expert in the duties of his station. He was well-versed in the conclusions of the Vedas and had prolonged his life to a span comparable with that of Lord Brahmā. This great sage, whose name was Lomaśa Ṛṣi, was conversant with past, present, and future; and at the passing of each kalpa a single hair fell from his body. The brāhmaṇa advisers of the king approached him one by one, offering humble obeisances.

“Captivated by the presence of that exalted soul, the king’s counsellors addressed him with great reverence: ‘By singular good fortune, O sage, have we been granted thy darśana.’

“Lomaśa Ṛṣi, seeing them prostrate before him, replied, ‘Declare unto me the purpose of your visit. Why do you thus praise me? I must employ all my powers to resolve your difficulty, for sages such as I have but one concern: to bring benefit unto others. Doubt it not.’

“The king’s representatives spoke: ‘We have approached thee, O venerable sage, to seek thy guidance in resolving a grave matter. Our lord, King Mahījita, remaineth without a son, though he hath ever cherished and protected us as though we were his own offspring. To behold him thus afflicted with grief on account of his sonlessness is for us a cause of deepest sorrow. Therefore have we entered the forest to undertake austerities, and by good fortune we have now come upon thee, whose very darśana maketh all undertakings successful. We beseech thee: instruct us how our noble king may be blessed with a son.’

“Hearing their earnest plea, Lomaśa Ṛṣi entered into profound meditation and in an instant discerned the king’s former life. He said, ‘In his past birth your ruler was a merchant. Dissatisfied with his wealth, he committed sinful acts whilst travelling from village to village in trade. Once, at noon on the day following the Ekādaśī of the bright fortnight of Jyeṣṭha, he became parched with thirst during his journey. He came upon a fair pond on the outskirts of a village. Yet as he was about to drink, a cow and her newborn calf arrived, equally tormented by the heat. When they began to drink, the merchant, impelled by selfishness, rudely thrust them aside and quenched his own thirst first. This offence against the cow and her calf hath borne fruit in your king’s present barrenness; but by the pious deeds of that same life he hath obtained dominion over an untroubled kingdom.’

“The advisers said, ‘O illustrious Ṛṣi, we have heard it said in the Vedas that the effects of former sins may be effaced by the acquisition of merit. Vouchsafe unto us, therefore, an instruction by which our king’s fault may be expiated and he may be granted a son.’

“Lomaśa Ṛṣi said, ‘There is an Ekādaśī known as Putradā, which falleth in the bright fortnight of Śrāvaṇa. Upon that day ye all, together with your king, should fast and keep vigil throughout the night, most scrupulously observing the prescribed rules. Thereafter, bestow upon the king whatever merit ye shall have acquired by this observance. If ye duly follow my instruction, he shall assuredly be blessed with a noble son.’

“Greatly heartened by the sage’s words, the advisers offered him grateful obeisances and, their eyes shining with joy, returned home.

“When the month of Śrāvaṇa arrived, the king’s advisers faithfully remembered Lomaśa Ṛṣi’s counsel, and under their direction the king and all the citizens of Māhīṣmatī-purī observed the fast of Ekādaśī. Upon Dvādaśī, the morrow, the citizens duly offered unto the king the merit they had gained. By the power of that accumulated merit the queen conceived and in due course gave birth to a son of surpassing beauty.

“O Yudhiṣṭhira,” concluded Lord Kṛṣṇa, “the Ekādaśī of the bright fortnight of Śrāvaṇa is thus famed as Putradā, the Bestower of Sons. Whosoever seeketh happiness in this world and the next should abstain from all grains and legumes upon this sacred day. Verily, he who but heareth the glories of Putradā Ekādaśī becometh freed from all sin, is blessed with good progeny, and surely ascendeth to the celestial realms after death.”

Thus endeth the Vṛjavāsī narration of the glories of Śrāvaṇa-śukla Ekādaśī, known as Putradā Ekādaśī, from the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa.