Ekadashi
Every question on the site tagged Ekadashi, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
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20 Nov: The tithi began and ended without ever falling at sunrise (kshaya); the day it runs through is kept.
Computed for New Delhi. Sunrise decides which tithi a day belongs to, so these can differ elsewhere.
The eleventh lunar day of each fortnight, observed as a fasting vow (Vrata) dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
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Which revered figures in Sanatana Dharma were themselves accomplished Tantriks?
Lord Shiva is the supreme Tantrik; Sage Vashistha (Lord Rama's family preceptor) was a Tantrik; Lord Dattatreya is a Maha-Kaula; Sage Atri and Mother Anasuya are Param Kaulas; and Sage Durvasa was a formidable practitioner of Smashana Kali.
Should bhog be offered to Bhagavati on Ekadashi, and which bhog?
Why should it not be offered, he answers. Here even the supreme Vaishnavas, those who call themselves outright incarnations of Narayan, are sitting and eating on that day. By the niyam of Ekadashi one should at the least not eat rice; that much at least holds, that on the day of Ekadashi do not eat rice. This much niyam everyone should observe, whoever you may be — unless you are initiated in a particular tantra marga, where the niyam of the vrat of the Ekadashi tithi does not apply; that subject is separate.
What naivedya may be offered if you have kept the Ekadashi vrat?
If you do the seva and puja of Bhagavati, then brother, you have kept the Ekadashi vrat — so you will offer only fruit and the like as naivedya. If anna is being cooked, then anna will be offered, but rice will not be offered. Rice is simply not to be eaten that day; keep this in mind. The bhog of rice will not be offered.
Which Nanda tithis did Sati keep in Ashwin and Kartik?
In the month of Ashwin — the time of the Sharad Durga Puja around October — the Nanda tithis that fall are Pratipada, Shashthi and Ekadashi. On these she performed the pujan of Har, that is Shiva, with devotion using gud, bhat and lavan. Thereafter, in the month of Kartik, on the Chaturdashi, with kheer and apoop.
What is kuttu ka atta and when is it eaten?
Explaining for those who do not know, he says that in Navratra the flour of kuttu is what all the vrat food is made from — things are made from it and eaten, and those who keep the observance eat it; it is called kuttu. He notes that someone who did not know it took it to be dog flour. Kuttu is a flour that is eaten in a vrat, in the Ekadashi vrat.
What should be done on Devshayani Ekadashi?
Tomorrow is Devshayani Ekadashi and Chaturmas begins from it. The first work of the day, the speaker says, is to do a havan as strength allows in the name of Bhagwan Narayan — do a sukshma havan, but do it — offering ahutis with his 108 names.
What if I am told to give arghya with the Gayatri but am not entitled to it?
The first thing, he says, is that this is a Dhanu lagna kundali and Brihaspati is your chief graha — but it is not the case that arghya is given according to the lagna kundali. He says only one condition always: if you wear manikya on the body, then arghya is not to be given, or at the time of giving arghya you must take it off and then give it, that is all. For the rest, every person can do the puja of Suryanarayan, and everyone should certainly give him arghya. Surya and Tulsi ji should be given arghya daily by all — only, on Ekadashi and Sunday, these two days, Tulsi ji is not to be given water.
Stage one of Badavanal siddhi: Sitaram japa from Ekadashi to Ekadashi
The speaker says the vidhi begins on the Ekadashi of any month and runs to the Ekadashi of the next paksha. In that period one does 108 malas daily of the Sitaram nama on a genuine Tulsi mala of 108 beads plus a sumeru, to destroy one's paap and taap and to produce in the body the element that can hold the Badavanal vidya. It is done with Brahmacharya, sleeping on the ground if possible, after a morning bath and puja of Shri Ram's darbar, on a Kusha Asana laid with its head east, in yellow clothes, facing east only, with achaman and a Sankalpa naming the purpose and also all paap, shraap and kundali doshas; each day's japa is surrendered with water into Ram's right hand or Janaki's left. After the home puja one goes to a Shiva temple, lights five ghee lamps, does abhisheka with milk, curd and honey and then water, offers bilva and flowers and recites the Rudrashtakam eleven times; back home, one feeds the creatures around the house before eating. Kept up to the Ekadashi, this completes the first stage.
What is the rule about tulsi on a Shaligram, and the days when plucking is forbidden?
The speaker says tulsi ji should be offered every day; and on those days on which the plucking of tulsi ji's leaf is forbidden — Ekadashi, Sunday, Dwadashi, a grahan, Amavasya — it should be plucked and kept in advance. If a fresh one is not available, the old leaves themselves should be washed and certainly offered upon them. A Shaligram shila should never be kept without tulsi: that is the chief rule.
Which weekday and tithi combinations multiply the fruit of worship?
Saptami falling on a Sunday becomes of great importance; Shlosh or Amavasya falling on a Monday raises its importance greatly; Amavasya, Chaturdashi or Ashtami falling on a Tuesday carries special importance; Ashtami on a Wednesday is very specially important; and Pushya nakshatra or Ekadashi tithi on a Thursday becomes of great and divine importance.
A separate video is promised on the sixteen Mondays vrat, and tantrokta objects such as the Durga Bisa yantra are to be used with understanding
Use tantrokta objects of this kind with thought and understanding, the speaker says. Asked about the best way to keep the sixteen Mondays vrat, he says he will make a separate video on it, and on the ekadashis too, telling each one separately. Asked whether the Durga Bisa yantra and the Durga tantric yantra are different, he says Durga ji has a great many yantras; the Durga Bisa yantra is for protective matters, and it is of three kinds — one for wealth, one for intellect, and one for strength. The mandal yantra is a separate thing.
Why do troubles increase for the one who does more puja?
It is a common question, he says: that the more puja-path we do the more the trouble increases, while the man opposite drinks liquor, smokes ganja, does wrong acts and is having a fine time. It is not so, he says. What is happening is only this: because you are walking on dharma and karma, keeping a rule — rising at four, bathing, sitting for puja, jap until eight, an anushthan, fasting on Ashtami and Ekadashi, going to 84 Khambha, doing Govardhan parikrama, going to a tirth — Bhagavati gives you all the sufferings together, so that this one's prarabdha may be cut quickly while he is doing dharma and cannot run away.
What are the rules for the tulsi leaf and the water in that remedy?
The tulsi leaf must not be plucked on Ekadashi and Dwadashi — that is, on the sudosh — and must not be plucked on a Sunday or a Thursday; so pluck it in advance and keep it, and then do the path of the seventh adhyaya. When the water has been made abhimantrit by the path, give a little of it to everyone to drink as the charanamrit of God, and sprinkle it in the house too, sprinkling three times at the main door. Begin it from tomorrow, Somvati Amavasya, which is a very good and extremely auspicious day, and continue it without break for a whole year. Do not call anybody and do nothing else special; do only this much, and benefit will certainly come in the pitru dosha.
Should hair and beard be cut during a forty-day sadhana?
The Kshaur Karma should be done two days before the sadhana begins, and again two days after the Samarpan — not in between. When doing it again, avoid a special tithi: not Ekadashi, not an eclipse, not a Sankranti; the weekday does not matter.
Why is it that certain teachers are followed and others are not?
Because they grant permission. The speaker asks why nobody follows Trailanga Swami, Devraha Baba or Tulsi Baba — because their hard Upasana, their Yoga practice, their hard Bhakti cannot be matched. What is followed instead is whoever says eat on Ekadashi, no Brahmacharya is needed, no mala is needed.
On which days should arghya not be given to Tulsi?
The speaker says arghya is given to Bhagavati Tulsi after the Surya arghya each morning, but not on Ekadashi and not on Sunday. If one's own tradition also omits Tuesday, or has no vidhan of giving it on Dwadashi, follow that; look at it according to one's own custom. On all the remaining days it is to be given.
On which tithi should the Gita paath of one's aradhya be done?
After doing this for three to six months, he says, your next work — and in between, from time to time — on Ekadashi you should do the Gita paath of your aradhya, or on whatever tithi is your aradhya's. Do it once a month or once a paksha; do a paakshik paath. If you do Bhagavati's, then do it on Ashtami, Navami or Chaturdashi; do it on Purnima or Amavasya. If you do Ganapati ji's, do it on Chaturthi, do it on Chaturdashi. On Sankranti, everyone's can be done.
Which Narayana mantra is proper for a shudra born on Ekadashi?
A listener says he is a shudra and was born on Ekadashi, and asks which Narayana mantra would be proper for him. The speaker says that until your diksha has taken place, until you are initiated somewhere, recite the Vishnu Sahasranama of Bhagavan Shri Hari Narayana. It is written in its phalashruti what a shudra will obtain if he recites it. After that keep a sankalp of this subject in it, because you are desirous of Bhagavan Shri Hari Narayana's mantra and your birth on Ekadashi is also becoming a cause for it, and since you have shraddha, stay dedicated to him. Become a true shudra; walk by niyam and niti. Your samarthya will be equal to that of those who are tapasvi, and by the Bhagavan's grace you will obtain a right path and will flourish in it.
Does one need to look at a muhurat on Devshayani Ekadashi?
The most general point everyone should know, the speaker says, is that on the day of Devshayani Ekadashi and on the day of Devprabodhini Ekadashi there is no need whatsoever to consult any kind of muhurat. Without looking at choghadiya and so on, if you wish to do some special work you may do it on that day.
Can a new sadhana be begun on Devshayani Ekadashi?
Yes — if you wish to begin any new sadhana, such as a special anushthan connected with Bhagavan Narsingh that has been taught on this channel, or the anushthan of his kavach, you may. If you wish to walk through life holding to one shakti and that shakti is Bhagavan Narsingh, then reciting the Narsingh Kavach daily to the best of your capacity from tomorrow until Devprabodhini Ekadashi, the day of Tulsi Vivah, can give you a great deal through the effect of this chaturmas vrat.
Which substances may be put in the abhishek water, and for whom?
If the deity receives haridra it may be used — but haridra is not offered to Mahadev in that way, so you will not bathe him with haridra-mixed water, whereas you may offer it to the forms of Bhagavati and to Bhagavan Narayana. Various divine fragrant substances are mixed into the water and the abhishek done on one day; do it on Ekadashi, do it on Purnima, as you wish.
Which deity is the vrat of each tithi kept for?
Asked the difference between the Pradosh vrat and the Trayodashi vrat, and whether both may be kept together by a listener who already keeps Ashtami, Pradosh and Purnima, the speaker asks where the rest are being left, and then enumerates them: keep Pratipada too, for Prajapati; Dwitiya for Chandra Bhagavan; Tritiya for Gauri ji; Chaturthi for Vinayaka; Panchami for Mahadev; Shashthi for Chhathi Maiya, and for Skanda Mata, for Katyayani, and for Devsena the wife of Bhagavan Kartikeya; Saptami for Surya Bhagavan; Ashtami you already keep; Navami for Durga ji; Dashami for Ganga ji; Ekadashi for Narayan; Dwadashi and Trayodashi you are doing; Chaturdashi for Kali ji; and Purnima is already there. Eat and drink nothing, he adds.
Is it acceptable to keep the same vrat in both pakshas?
Do any one vrat, the speaker says. If you keep Ashtami, then which one — Krishna Paksha or Shukla Paksha? If you keep both, that too is all right. If you are doing Pradosh in both, that too is all right. But carry one along. Those who do Ekadashi do only Ekadashi, of both pakshas. If you are doing Chaturthi, both Chaturthis or one — that is fine. But having done Ashtami, Pradosh, Trayodashi and Purnima, four vrats each — then what mistake have the remaining tithis made? Do theirs too, and the grace of all will be obtained by you.
What if water is offered to Tulsi on Ekadashi by mistake?
There is nothing to be done except ask forgiveness. It happens by forgetfulness and confusion, so there is no need to worry so much. The prescribed Prayashchitta has many rules if you go that way — but at the least, ask forgiveness for the offence.
May Tulsi be worshipped on Ekadashi?
Worship, yes — Tulsi Vivah itself takes place on that day. But Argha is forbidden. Bhagavati Tulsi is on her fast that day, so nothing that would break her fast — no Naivedya, no Argha — should be given.
Which tithi-window belongs to which deity?
For Ganpati ji in particular, Chaturthi to Chaturdashi. For Narayana, Ekadashi to Ekadashi. For Bhagavan Shiva, Panchami to Amavasya, or Panchami to Chaturdashi.
How can a brahmarakshas be driven out of a house?
Brother, it will drive you out — from where will you be able to drive it out, he answers. If you go to drive it out, then it is done. It is not as though a monkey has come out and you are asking how to drive it away with a stick. Even so, Manu Pujari ji, he says: do the paath of the eleventh adhyaya of the Gita eleven times daily in the morning, and again eleven times in the evening, beginning from Ekadashi and continuing without a break for as long as possible; then see a little what happens.
On which day can the Krishna kavach be perfected?
The Krishna kavach can be made siddh on the day of Ekadashi, the speaker says; and it can be made siddh on the day of Ashtami.
Can the vrat and full pujan be kept when the varshi has not been done?
You may keep only the vrat, the speaker says; as for the full matter of pujan and paath — with Ekadashi and the like, even when the varshi has not been done, Ekadashi cannot be given up. If you keep the vrat of a tithi then you cannot abandon it; that you may do.
When should a purashcharana be repeated, and between which tithis?
The speaker says that whatever anushthans you have done before, whatever purashcharana of mantras you have done, are most excellent if repeated in Kartik maas. He states the rule that if the purashcharana of a mantra — any mantra whatever — is done from the Papankusha Ekadashi that has just passed after the Sharadiya Navratri, up to the Devotthan Ekadashi on which Tulsi Vivah takes place, then the following applies.
What is said about japa done standing navel-deep in water?
It has been said, the speaker states, that standing in water up to the navel, by japa alone for the space of a muhurta — take it as some forty minutes of japa — the mantra becomes fully siddha and becomes chaitanya. Such is the glory if the japa is done on an Ekadashi.
What material must not be used in a havan on Ekadashi?
The speaker says: do not do a havan with samagri containing rice — on the day of Ekadashi.
How should a householder relate to a tradition's own particular rules?
The speaker points out that everyone knows that the parampara that sant belongs to does not keep the Ekadashi vrat and the like. If you are initiated in that parampara, then follow the rules there; and what is not in that parampara — a householder does best to walk within maryada, in accordance with the householder's state. He adds that they have also mocked the subjects of shraddha, and that such videos may be found.
How should achman be done by someone who vows not to drink water before Shiva puja?
It is a very good thing that you do not drink water without doing Baba's puja, he says — and you can do achman. In achman only so little water is to be taken that it does not go as far as the throat. He cites the same question asked about the Nirjala Ekadashi vrat of the present Shankaracharya of the Badrinath peeth, whose video he takes as his authority: achman is to be done, but the water should be so little that it goes into the mouth only in name and does not reach the throat.
Whose disciple was Sai Baba, and does that make him worshipful?
The name the questioner is trying to recall is Swami Samarth, he says; it is said that Sai was a disciple of Swami Samarth. Very well, let us accept it. Maha Swami Samarth is in himself the Maha Swami of Akkalkot, a mahashakti — so he is held. But in later time people have made everything wrong. Read the Sai Satcharita and see what he did: on the day of Ekadashi he stuffed cow flesh into a Brahmin's mouth, and you say he should be accepted. He, for his part, is not going to accept him.
How is achaman to be done on Nirjala Ekadashi?
Relaying what was told by the present Shankaracharya Maharaj of the Jyotish Peeth, he says that when achaman is performed on Nirjala Ekadashi, the water of the achaman should be so little that it remains only in the mouth and does not go into the throat. Because in the chief vidhi of achaman, when we drink the water it should go as far as the throat — only then, in a manner of speaking, is it counted as achaman. And there should be no sound while drinking, no slurping sound.
Should Ekadashi be kept while a long anushthan is running?
Whenever a person is performing some extensive anushthan, the speaker says, the question is what guru nirdesh he has received. Suppose you are doing a 41-day anushthan of Bhagavati, and you have been keeping the Ekadashi of every month, and in a 41-day anushthan two Ekadashis may fall — should the Ekadashi be kept or not? This will depend on what adesh your guru ji has given for it. As far as his own belief goes, and he states plainly that this is a belief and not an answer with shastrokta proof, upasana should be connected only with the deity whose puja is being done.
What is permitted during a 41-day avaran pujan of Bhagavati Vindhyavasini?
For example, the speaker says, if we are doing a 41-day mandal of the avaran pujan of Bhagavati Vindhyavasini, then in the middle of it the special pujan of any other devi-devata cannot be done either. In it we can do only the abhishek of Shiva ji. As for the rest of the ordinary devi-devatas, whatever pronunciation occurs in the svastivachan and the like occurs. After that there is no special pujan of anybody: only and only the complete avaran pujan of Bhagavati Vindhyavasini, and her Sahasranama and Gita paath and the rest, and her mantra japa, as much as you do in the whole day. No other special pujan of any other devi-devata will take place.
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