Varuthini Ekadasi falls in the dark fortnight (Krishna paksha) of the month of Vaisakha. On the day of Varuthini Ekadasi, devotees worship and offer prayers to Lord Vamana the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In the literal sense, Varuthini means ‘protected’ and thus the devotees get protected from various negativities and evils by observing Varuthini Ekadashi.
This Ekadasi is the last prior to Akshaya Tritiya (May 3) which is also the launch date of the #GivingToNrsimha 12 Day Matching Fundraiser to raise funds for the completion and opening of Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Temple Wing in the TOVP in 2023. Click on the link above to find out more.
Sri Yudhisthira Maharaj said, “Oh Vasudeva, I offer my most humble obeisances unto You. Please now describe to me the Ekadasi of the dark fortnight (krishna paksha) of the month of Vaisakha (April-May), including its specific merits and influence.”
Lord Sri Krishna replied, “Oh King, in this world and the next, the most auspicious and magnanimous Ekadasi is Varuthini Ekadasi, which occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of Vaisakha. Whosoever observes a complete fast on this sacred day has his sins completely removed, obtains continuous happiness, and achieves all good fortune.
Fasting on Varuthini Ekadasi makes even an unfortunate woman fortunate.
Upon anyone who observes it, this Ekadasi bestows material enjoyment in this life and liberation after the death of this present body. It destroys the sins of all and saves people from the miseries of repeated rebirth.
“By observing this Ekadasi properly, King Mandhata was liberated. Many other kings also benefited from observing it, kings such as Maharaja Dhundhumara, in the Ikshvaku dynasty, who became free from leprosy resulting from the curse that Lord Shiva had imposed upon him as a punishment.
“Whatever merit one obtains by performing austerities and penances for ten thousand years is achieved by a person who observes Varuthini Ekadasi.
The merit one achieves by donating a great amount of gold during a solar eclipse at Kurukshetra is gained by one who observes this one Ekadasi with love and devotion, and certainly attains his goals in this life and the next.
“In short, this Ekadasi is pure and very enlivening and the destroyer of all sins.
Better than giving horses in charity is giving elephants, and better than giving elephants is giving land. But better still than giving land is the giving of sesame seeds, and better than that is giving of gold. Still better than giving gold is giving food grains for all the forefathers, demigods (devas), and human beings become satisfied by eating grains. Thus, there is no better gift of charity than this in the past, present or future.
“Yet learned scholars have declared that giving away a young maiden in marriage to a worthy person is equal to giving away food grains in charity. Moreover, Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has said that giving cows in charity is equal to giving food grains. Still better than all these charities is teaching spiritual knowledge to the ignorant. Yet all the merits one can attain by performing all these acts of charity are attained by one who fasts on the Varuthini Ekadasi.
“One who lives off the wealth of his daughters suffers a hellish condition until the inundation of the entire universe, Oh Bharata. Therefore one should be especially careful not to use the wealth of his daughter.
Oh best of kings, any householder who takes his daughter’s wealth out of greed, who tries to sell his daughter, or who takes money from the man to whom he has given his daughter in marriage, such a householder becomes a lowly cat in his next life.
“Therefore it is said that whoever, as a sacred act of charity, gives away in marriage a maiden decorated with various ornaments, and who also gives a dowry with her, obtains merit that cannot be described even by Chitragupta, the chief secretary of Yamaraja in the heavenly planets. That very same merit, however, can be easily achieved by one who fasts on the Varuthini Ekadasi.
“The following things should be given up on the Dashami, (the tenth phase of the Moon), the day before the Ekadasi:
Eating on bell-metal plates, eating any kind of urad-dahl, eating red-lentils, eating chick-peas, eating kondo (a grain that is primarily eaten by poor people and that resembles poppy seeds or agarpanthas seeds), eating spinach, eating honey, eating in another person’s house/home, eating more than once, and participating in sex of any kind.
“On the Ekadasi itself one should give up the following:
Gambling, sports, sleeping during the daytime, betal nuts and its leaf, brushing one’s teeth, spreading rumors, faultfinding, talking to the spiritually fallen, anger, and lying.
“On the Dwadasi the day after Ekadasi (the twelfth phase of the Moon), one should give up the following:
Eating on bell-metal plates, eating urad-dahl, red-lentils, or honey, lying, strenuous exercise or labor, eating more than once, any sexual activity, shaving the body, face or head, smearing oils on one’s body, and eating in another’s home.”
Lord Sri Krishna continued, “Whoever observes the Varuthini Ekadasi in this way becomes free from all sinful reactions and returns to the eternal, spiritual abode.
One who worships Lord Janardana (Krishna) on this Ekadasi by staying awake throughout the entire night, also becomes free from all his previous sins and attains to the spiritual abode.
“Therefore, Oh king, he who is frightened of his accumulated sins and their attendant reactions, and thus of death itself, must observe Varuthini Ekadasi by fasting very strictly.
Finally, Oh noble Yudhisthira, he who hears or reads this glorification of the sacred Varuthini Ekadasi obtains the merit earned by donating one thousand cows in charity, and at last he returns home, to the Supreme abode of Lord Vishnu in the Vaikunthas.
“In devotional service there are certain activities which are called determined, such as fasting on certain days, like the eleventh day of the moon, Ekadasi, and on the appearance day of the Lord. All these rules and regulations are offered by the great acharyas for those who are actually interested in getting admission into the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the transcendental world. The mahatmas, great souls, strictly observe all these rules and regulations, and therefore they are sure to achieve the desired result.” (Gita 9.14 purport)
The cow stands with tears in her eyes, the sudra milkman draws milk from the cow artificially, and when there is no milk, the cow is sent to be slaughtered. These greatly sinful acts are responsible for all the troubles in present society. People do not know what they are doing in the name of economic development. The influence of Kali will keep them in the darkness of ignorance. Despite all endeavors for peace and prosperity, they must try to see the cows and the bulls happy in all respects. Foolish people do not know how one earns happiness by making the cows and bulls happy, but it is a fact by the law of nature. Let us take it from the authority of Srimad-Bhagavatam and adopt the principles for the total happiness of humanity. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.17.3 purport)
