देवउठनी एकादशी व्रत कथा

The Puranas say that on Ashadha Shukla Ekadashi Vishnu sinks into yogic sleep on the bed of Sheshnag in the ocean of milk. Lakshmi sits at his feet, and for these four months the burden of the world is carried by Shiva. This is the chaturmas, the time of the rains through the months of Shravan, Bhadon, Ashwin and Kartik, when wandering sadhus stay in one place and practise, householders keep fasts and rules, and weddings and other auspicious rites are held back. Then, on Kartik Shukla Ekadashi, the gods and the sages together wake the Lord with conch shells, bells, drums and hymns. He wakes, and auspicious work begins again in the world. This folk katha is heard during the fast of that day.

In a certain country there was a king, a great devotee of Vishnu. His kingdom had one rule: on Ekadashi nobody eats grain. Not the king, not his people, not his servants, not his prisoners, not even the animals. On that day the grain shops across the kingdom stayed shut, only fruit and milk went on the stoves, and even the horses and elephants were given fruit instead of grass and gram. The king would say, 'In my kingdom Ekadashi belongs to the Lord; not one grain shall pass anyone's lips that day.' People found it hard, but the king's heart was sincere and his people loved him, so everyone kept the rule.

Word of this king reached heaven. Vishnu thought: the rule is a great one, but let me see whether it springs from the king's pride or from his devotion. On an Ekadashi day the Lord took the form of a thin, dusty, exhausted traveller and came to the king's gate. When the guards stopped him he sat down on the ground and said, 'I have come from far away and I have not eaten for three days. Tell the king to give me a handful of grain.'

The king came to the gate himself. He saw the traveller and the state he was in, and told his servants, 'Bring him inside, give him water, fruit, milk, whatever he wants.' The traveller did not so much as look at the fruit. He said, 'King, I do not want fruit and milk. I want bread, I want rice. Grain. No grain has entered my stomach for three days. Fruit will not take away my hunger.' The king folded his hands and said, 'Sir, today is Ekadashi. In my kingdom nobody eats grain today; that is my rule. Tomorrow at sunrise I will feed you with my own hands. Today take fruit, take milk, and rest.'

The traveller shook his head. 'Tomorrow? Will I be alive tomorrow? King, a hungry man has come to your door and you recite your rule to him. The scriptures say that a guest who leaves hungry carries away the merit of the house. Which is greater, your vow or a hungry man's life? If a man dies of hunger at your gate today, will your Ekadashi be a success?' Silence fell over the court. The ministers looked at one another. Someone murmured, 'Majesty, a rule is a rule, it is only one day.' Someone else said, 'Majesty, the guest is God; give him food.'

The king was quiet for a long while. Then he said, 'Sir, I made this rule for myself and my people, so that one day in a fortnight we would remember the Lord. I will not make that rule a shield against a hungry man's life. My vow is mine: I will not eat grain today. But you are a guest sent by the Lord, and feeding the hungry is a dharma greater even than Ekadashi. I will cook your meal with my own hands.' He went into the kitchen, lit the fire himself, and with his own hands made bread and rice. The servants stood watching: the king's hands turned black with smoke and his eyes watered, but he let no one take the work from him. Then he served the food on a leaf plate, set it before the traveller and folded his hands. 'Eat.'

The traveller looked at the food, and then at the king. And in that instant his form changed. No dusty traveller stood there but Vishnu himself, in yellow silk, bearing the conch, the discus, the mace and the lotus. Everyone in the court fell to the ground. The Lord raised the king and said, 'King, I came to test you. Many people keep fasts, but the pride of the fast makes them hard. You kept both dharmas: you did not give up your vow, and you did not let a guest go hungry. A rule that does not stop compassion is the only true rule. Today is Kartik Shukla Ekadashi, the day I wake from my sleep, and today I have woken at your door.'

Tears ran from the king's eyes. The Lord said, 'Ask for a boon.' The king said, 'Lord, I want nothing. Only this: that whoever in my kingdom keeps this Ekadashi fast, let their devotion stay true and let compassion stay in it.' The Lord granted it: 'Whoever keeps the fast of Kartik Shukla Ekadashi, stays awake in the night taking my name, feeds the hungry and breaks the fast on Dwadashi will gain the fruit of all the Ekadashis of the year and their sins will be destroyed. With my waking, all the auspicious work of the world opens again.' With these words the Lord vanished, and at that moment conch shells and bells began to sound across the kingdom, as if the gods themselves had woken.

Since then Kartik Shukla Ekadashi has been called Dev Uthani Ekadashi. The fast is kept on this day; at dusk homes raise a canopy of sugarcane, light lamps, ring bells and beat plates to 'wake the gods'; there is a vigil through the night, and the paran, the breaking of the fast, on Dwadashi the next day. The chaturmas ends and the wedding pipes sound again. The next day is Tulsi Vivah, when the Lord in the form of the Shaligram marries Tulsi; this is counted as the first wedding of the world, after which the weddings of men and women begin. It is said that whoever keeps this fast with faith and hears the katha keeps poverty and disease away from the house, and that Vishnu wakes at their door.

Things needed: a picture or image of Vishnu or of Lakshmi-Narayana (a Shaligram is best), yellow cloth, panchamrit (milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar), Ganga water, tulsi leaves, yellow flowers, sandal paste, akshat, incense, ghee lamps, a kalash, a coconut, paan and supari, the fruits of the season (sugarcane, water chestnut, ber, sweet potato, amla, radish, custard apple) and sweets. Rice flour and red ochre or chalk for the chauk, and five or seven stalks of sugarcane for the canopy.

On the evening of Dashami eat a light, sattvic meal without rice or lentils. On Ekadashi rise before sunrise, bathe and wear yellow or clean clothes. Take water, akshat and a flower in your hand and take the sankalp, the vow: 'Today I keep the fast of Dev Uthani Ekadashi for the pleasure of Lord Vishnu', and with it repeat to yourself the rule of taking no grain today.

At the puja place bathe the image of Vishnu with panchamrit and Ganga water, offer yellow cloth, mark it with sandal and akshat, and offer yellow flowers and tulsi leaves. Light the ghee lamp and incense. Chant one mala of 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya'; if there is time, recite the Vishnu Sahasranama or a Vishnu stuti. Tulsi leaves are not plucked on Ekadashi, so pick them on Dashami and keep them ready.

Smear the floor of the courtyard or puja place and draw the chauk with red ochre and rice flour: in it go the Lord's footprints, the conch, the discus, the sun and the moon. Raise the canopy of sugarcane stalks over the chauk and seat the Lord's picture or the Shaligram in its centre. Under the canopy set all the seasonal fruit, the water chestnuts, ber, sweet potato, radish and sweets, and cover them with a winnowing basket or a vessel; this offering is opened at the time of waking the gods.

Fast through the day. If you can keep a complete fast, take only water; if not, take one light meal of fruit, milk, water chestnut or buckwheat. Rice, wheat, lentils and all grain are out, and many homes do not allow salt either. During the day read or listen to the katha and keep the Lord in mind. Avoid anger, lies and gossip; the Ekadashi fast is of the mind more than the stomach.

In the evening, in the pradosh window, comes the main rite of waking the gods. Light ghee lamps in the canopy and around the house. Let the whole family gather at the canopy. Ring bells, beat plates or blow the conch, and sing the folk songs of waking the gods; in north India the songs of 'utho dev, baitho dev' have been sung for generations. Uncover the offering and present it to the Lord, offer paan, supari and the coconut, and with the Utthapana mantra of 'uttishtha Govinda', or a prayer in plain words, ask the Lord to wake and take up the work of the world again.

Do the aarti of Vishnu and then close the katha. A vigil through the night is the tradition: bhajans, kirtan, the Vishnu Sahasranama or the chanting of Hari's names. If you cannot stay up all night, keep the bhajans and the name going at least until midnight, and bow to the Lord before you sleep.

The next day, Dwadashi, bathe after sunrise, worship the Lord, and give a meal or a gift of grain to a brahmin, a needy person or someone hungry; this is what the king of the story teaches. Then break the fast within the Dwadashi tithi: take water with a tulsi leaf and eat a sattvic meal of grain. The paran must fall before Dwadashi ends and after the Hari Vasara, the first quarter of Dwadashi, has passed; check this year's paran time in the panchang.

On the same Dwadashi many homes hold the Tulsi Vivah, and from this day the muhurtas for weddings, housewarmings and new ventures open again. The sugarcane of the canopy is shared in the family as prasad the next day.

The first rule of the Ekadashi fast is no grain, and before all else no rice. Tradition forbids rice on Ekadashi in particular; it is said that eating rice on this day destroys the fruit of the fast. Wheat, lentils, millet and every other grain are also left out. Those who cannot go without water or on water alone take the phalahar: fruit, milk, curd, nuts, water-chestnut or buckwheat flour, sago, potato and sweet potato. Rock salt is allowed in most homes. The sick, the old, pregnant women and children should not keep a complete fast; for them fruit and the remembrance of the Lord is the whole vrat.

The second rule is the night vigil. The night of Dev Uthani Ekadashi is the night the Lord wakes, so the devotees stay awake too: bhajans, kirtan, the Vishnu Sahasranama, the chanting of Hari's names, or the reading of this katha. Temples hold kirtan through this night and families sing together at home. Those who cannot keep the whole night stay up until midnight and sleep with a clear mind. Keeping away from anger, lies, gossip and every kind of indulgence on Ekadashi is also part of the fast.

The third rule is the paran. The Ekadashi fast is broken not on Ekadashi but on the next day, Dwadashi, and this breaking is the paran. It should be done within the Dwadashi tithi, after sunrise and after the Hari Vasara has passed; letting Dwadashi end without the paran is counted a fault. Before the paran come the bath, the puja and a gift of food to someone hungry or in need; that is the heart of the story. Then take water with a tulsi leaf to open the fast and eat a sattvic meal of grain. Check the paran time in the panchang each year.

With Dev Uthani Ekadashi the chaturmas ends. The weddings, engagements, housewarmings, tonsures, thread ceremonies and new business ventures held back since Devshayani Ekadashi open again from this day. The next day, Dwadashi, is Tulsi Vivah, by tradition the first wedding of the year, and after it the wedding muhurtas of Kartik and Agahan begin, India's first marriage season. For this reason Dev Uthani Ekadashi is also counted in many regions as an abujh muhurta, a day on which a wedding may be held without consulting the almanac. If a wedding is planned in your home, look up the muhurtas after this Ekadashi in the panchang.

By tradition the fast of Dev Uthani Ekadashi gives the fruit of all the Ekadashis of the year, destroys sins and keeps poverty and disease away from the house. It is said that whoever wakes the Lord on this day has their own fortune woken by the Lord: stalled work, delayed weddings and halted progress begin to move after this Ekadashi. The message of the story is that the pride of a fast is not the fast; a rule that does not stop compassion is the one dear to the Lord.

This Ekadashi completes the four-month discipline of the chaturmas, in a sense the end of the year of restraint and the start of the year of celebration. The day is said to matter especially to those whose marriage is delayed, whose homes have auspicious work pending, who want a fresh start in work or business, or who could not keep the Ekadashis through the year.

After the waking of the gods, the Vishnu aarti 'Om Jai Jagdish Hare' is sung, and in many homes the Lakshmi aarti follows it. After the aarti, share the offering from the canopy, the fruit, water chestnuts, ber and sweets, as prasad, and begin the night vigil.