Jaya Ekadashi

Gandivadhari Arjuna said, "O Lord! Kindly elaborate and tell me about the Ekadashi of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Magha. Which deity should be worshipped on this Ekadashi? What is the story of observing the fast on this Ekadashi and what benefits does one attain from doing so?"

Lord Krishna said, "O Arjuna! The Ekadashi of Shukla Paksha in the month of Magha is known as Jaya Ekadashi. Observing a fast on this Ekadashi liberates a person from taking birth as the spirits, ghosts and similar entities."

Then he told the story. Indra was once at leisure in Nandanvana, where the Gandharvas sang and the Gandharva maidens danced. Among them a maiden named Pushpavati caught sight of a Gandharva named Malyavana, and was so taken with him that she tried to draw his attention with her gestures. Malyavana, equally enamoured, lost the rhythm and the tune of his singing. The harmony of the performance broke, and the assembled gods were displeased — for music is a sacred practice, and to disrupt it is a sin.

Indra in his wrath cursed them both: "Malyavana and Pushpavati, you have desecrated the sanctity of music and insulted Goddess Saraswati. Thus, you must descend to the mortal realm. By acting improperly and shamefully in the assembly of elders, you have also disrespected them. Therefore, your presence is no longer welcome in Indraloka. You shall now lead the life of degraded, wandering spirits."

They fell to the Himalayas as pishachas. They could not smell, taste or touch; sleep came to them neither by day nor by night; the cold made their hair stand on end, numbed their hands and feet, and set their teeth chattering. One day the spirit said to his wife, "I wonder what sins we committed in our past lives that have resulted in this miserable existence as wandering spirits. This form as a Pisacha is so agonizing that even the torments of hell would be preferable."

By the Lord's grace, on Jaya Ekadashi in the Shukla Paksha of Magha the two unknowingly kept the fast. They ate no cooked food and did no sinful deed; they took only fruit, and passed the day in sorrow beneath a peepal tree. When the sun set they clung to one another through the bitter night.

At dawn they were released from the pishacha form. Their celestial bodies returned to them, an Apsara and a Gandharva again, clothed and ornamented, and they rose to Swargaloka while the gods and Gandharvas sang their praise. Coming before Indra, they bowed.

Astonished, Indra asked, "How were you freed from the Pisacha Yoni? Tell me each and every detail about it."

Malyavana replied, "O King of the Gods, Indra! By the grace of Lord Shri Hari and the merit earned by observing the fast of Jaya Ekadashi, we were liberated from the Pisacha Yoni."

Whoever observes this fast is freed from birth as a ghost or spirit, and attains at last the abode of Lord Vishnu.