Padmini Ekadashi 2004

This Ekadashi falls in the bright fortnight of the Adhika or Purushottama masa, the extra lunar month, and so comes only once in about three years. Sri Krishna told Yudhishthira its story as the sage Pulastya once told Narada.

The great Haihaya king had many queens but no son, and went to the forest to perform long penance. His queen Padmini, a daughter of King Harishchandra, followed him. There she met Anasuya, wife of the sage Atri, who taught her the fast of the Ekadashi of the extra month.

Padmini kept the fast and the night vigil with devotion. The Lord was pleased and granted a son who could not be defeated. That son was the mighty Kartavirya Arjuna, whom even Ravana could not overcome. The vow is said to bring the merit of bathing in all the holy places.