English
Papankusha Ekadashi Vrat Katha
Source: Traditional Ekadashi vrat katha (traditionally attributed to the Brahmavaivarta Purana)
Yudhishthira asked Lord Krishna, “Lord, what is the name of the Ekadashi in the bright fortnight of Ashwin?” Krishna said, “O king, it is called Papankusha Ekadashi. Just as the goad (ankusha) controls an elephant, this fast puts a goad on the elephant of sin. Hear its story.”
On the Vindhya mountains lived a hunter named Krodhana, the angry one. His nature matched his name. He was extremely cruel. Hunting animals and birds, robbing travellers, lies, violence… his whole life was spent in such deeds.
He never showed mercy to anyone, never took the Lord's name, never did a good deed. Year after year went by, and he grew old.
When the end of his life drew near, one day the messengers of Yama appeared before him and said, “Krodhana, tomorrow is your last day. We will come to take you.”
Hearing this, Krodhana, who had feared no one all his life, trembled to his core for the first time. His whole life passed before his eyes: every act of violence, every deceit. He thought, what have I wasted this life on?
Restless, he wandered through the forest, and wandering on he came to a peaceful hermitage. It was the ashram of the great sage Angira.
Krodhana fell at the sage's feet with tears streaming from his eyes. He said, “Great sage, all my life I have done nothing but sin. Now I have only one day left. Is there a way even for me?”
The sage Angira looked at him with compassion. He did not scold him or turn him away. He knew that for one who comes for refuge with true repentance, the Lord's door is never closed.
The sage said, “Child, tomorrow is Papankusha Ekadashi of the bright fortnight of Ashwin. Fast tomorrow with full devotion, worship Lord Vishnu, chant his name and keep vigil all night remembering him. Your heart will become pure.”
Krodhana did just that. The man who had lived by violence gave up food and water that day and worshipped the Lord as the sage had taught. For the first time, peace descended into his heart.
All day he was immersed in the Lord's name. At night too he stayed awake singing bhajans. His heart repented of its old deeds and trusted in the Lord's compassion.
Through the Ekadashi fast and his sincere repentance all his sins were destroyed. The story says that when his final hour came, it was not Yama's messengers but the attendants of Lord Vishnu who came, and Krodhana, taking a divine form, rode on Garuda to Vishnu's abode.
Krishna told Yudhishthira, “O king, this fast holds the mind back from sin like a goad. On this day Lord Padmanabha should be worshipped, and food, water, clothes, land, cows and the like given in charity as one is able.”
The heart of the story is that it is never too late to come to the Lord's refuge. One sincere repentance, one true resolve, can change the direction of a life.
What this story teaches
It is never too late to take refuge in the Lord. Sincere repentance and one true resolve can change the course of a life.
Papankusha Ekadashi falls in the bright fortnight of Ashwin, around the day after Dussehra. It is customary to worship Lord Vishnu as Padmanabha, fast, keep night vigil and give charity, and to break the fast on Dwadashi. The sources of the Ekadashi kathas are given differently in different texts; this one is traditionally attributed to the Brahmavaivarta Purana.
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