Mohini Ekadashi is regarded as one of the most important fasting days for Hindu people. The day of Mohini Ekadashi is celebrated to worship Lord Vishnu and his incarnated form of Mohini. Devotees observe a Mohini Ekadashi fast to get relieved from their past sins and live a life filled with luxuries.
As per the Hindu calendar, Mohini Ekadashi is celebrated in the month of Vaisakh during the Shukla Paksha on the 11th day (Ekadashi tithi). According to the Gregorian calendar, the day falls in the month of April or May.
The devotees observe a silent vow or a strict Mohini Ekadashi fast on this particular day.
According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that the importance and significance of Mohini Ekadashi have been first explained by Lord Krishna to King Yudhishthira and by Saint Vasishtha to Lord Rama.
See Also: Ekadashi Mata Aarti
As per the Hindu scriptures, Mohini was the incarnated form of Lord Vishnu. At the time of Samudra Manthan, when nectar was churned out, there was a dispute that took place between demons and deities about who will consume the Amrit. Deities sought help from Lord Vishnu and thus appeared in the form of a beautiful woman named Mohini to distract the attention of the devils from the pot of nectar. Thus, all the deities consumed nectar with the help of Lord Vishnu. That is why the day is celebrated as Mohini Ekadashi. It is the same fast which was observed by King Yudhishthira and Lord Rama.
As per the legend, once there was a place named Bhadravati which was situated near the river Saraswati. King Dhrutimaan who was a firm devotee of Lord Vishnu used to rule the place. He was blessed with five sons, out of which the fifth one whose name was Dhrishtabuddhi was actually a sinner being involved in too many bad deeds and immoral activities.
Seeing all this, King Dhrutimaan abandoned Dhrishtabuddhi. To survive, he got involved in acts of robbery. As a result, he was thrown out of the kingdom. Dhrishtabuddhi started living in a forest. Once when he was wandering in the forest, he arrived at Sage Kaundinya’s hermitage.
It was the time of Vaisakh month and sage Kaundinya was taking a bath. Some droplets just splashed out and sprinkled on Dhrishtabuddhi. Because of this, he attained self-realization and good sense and thus regretted all his immoral deeds. He pleaded the saint to guide him to the path of salvation from his past sins and bad karma.
To this, the sage asked him to observe an Ekadashi fast which falls in the Vaisakh month during Shukla Paksha to get relieved from the sins. On the day of Ekadashi, Dhrishtabuddhi observed the Ekadashi Vrat with complete devotion. Ultimately all his sins were washed out and reached to Vishnu Lok.
Since that time, it is believed that devotees can attain salvation by observing a fast of Mohini Ekadashi.
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Apart from Mohini Ekadashi, there are 23 Ekadashi Vrat in a year that fall on Krishna and Shukla Paksha of Hindu Calendar. All these Ekadashi tithi are very significant in Hindu traditions and are popular with various Ekadashi names. Here is the list of Ekadashi Vrat observed throughout the year.
S. N. |
Hindu Month |
Paksha |
Ekadashi Vrat |
1 |
Chaitra |
Krishna Paksha |
|
2 |
Chaitra |
Shukla Paksha |
|
3 |
Vaishakha |
Krishna Paksha |
|
4 |
Vaishakha |
Shukla Paksha |
Mohini Ekadashi |
5 |
Jyeshtha |
Krishna Paksha |
|
6 |
Jyeshtha |
Shukla Paksha |
|
7 |
Ashadha |
Krishna Paksha |
|
8 |
Ashadha |
Shukla Paksha |
|
9 |
Shravana |
Krishna Paksha |
|
10 |
Shravana |
Shukla Paksha |
|
11 |
Bhadrapada |
Krishna Paksha |
|
12 |
Bhadrapada |
Shukla Paksha |
|
13 |
Ashwin |
Krishna Paksha |
|
14 |
Ashwin |
Shukla Paksha |
|
15 |
Kartika |
Krishna Paksha |
|
16 |
Kartika |
Shukla Paksha |
|
17 |
Margashirsha |
Krishna Paksha |
|
18 |
Margashirsha |
Shukla Paksha |
|
19 |
Paush |
Krishna Paksha |
|
20 |
Paush |
Shukla Paksha |
|
21 |
Magha |
Krishna Paksha |
|
22 |
Magha |
Shukla Paksha |
|
23 |
Phalguna |
Krishna Paksha |
|
24 |
Phalguna |
Shukla Paksha |
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