Many devotees are very inquisitive about the appearance of Sri Ekadasi and about her special characteristics. Therefore I am presenting this description from the fourteenth chapter of the Padma Purana, from the section entitled "Kriya-sagara-sara":
Once the great sage Jaimini Rishi said to his spiritual master Srila Vyasadeva, "Oh Gurudeva!Previously, by your mercy, you described to me the history of the glories of the Ganga river, thebenefits of worshipping Vishnu, the giving of grains in charity, the giving of water in charity, andthe magnanimity of drinking the water that has washed the feet of thebrah manas. O best of thesages, Sri Gurudeva, now, with great enthusiasm, I desire to hear the benefits of fasting onEkadasi and the appearance of Ekadasi."
kasmad ekadasi jata tasyah ko va vidhir dvija
kada va kriyate kim va phalam kim va vadasva me
ka va pujyatama tatra devata sad-gunarnava
akurvatah syat ko dosa etan me vaktum arhasi
"Oh Gurudeva! When did Ekadasi take birth and from whom did she appear? What are the rulesof fasting on Ekadasi? Please describe the benefits of following this vow and when it should befollowed. Who is the utmost worship able presiding deity of Sri Ekadasi? What are the faults in not following Ekadasi properly? Please bestow your mercy upon me and tell about thesesubjects, as you are the only personality able to do so."
Srila Vyasadeva, upon hearing this enquiry of Jaimini Risi, became situated in transcendental bliss. "Oh brahmana sage Jaimini! The results of following Ekadasi can only be perfectly described by the Supreme Lord, Narayana, because Sri Narayana is the only personality capable of describing them in full. But I will give a very brief description in answer to your question."
"At the beginning of the material creation, the Supreme Lord created the moving and non-moving living entities within this world made of five gross material elements. Simultaneously,for the purpose of punishing the humans beings, He created a personality whose form was the embodiment of sin (Papa Purusha). The different limbs of this personality were constructed of the various sinful activities. His head head was made of the sin of murdering a brahmana, his two eyes were the form of the sin of drinking intoxicants, his mouth was made of the sin of stealing gold, his ears were the form of the sin of having illicit connection with the spiritual master's wife,his nose of the sin of killing one's wife, his arms the form of the sin of killing a cow, his neck made of the sin of stealing accumulated wealth, his chest of the sin of abortion, his lower chest ofthe sin of having sex with another's wife, his stomach of the sin of killing one's relatives, his navel of the sin of killing those who are dependent on him, his waist of the sin of self appraisal,his thighs of the sin of off ending the guru, his genital of the sin of selling one's daughter, hisbuttocks of the sin of telling confidential matters, his feet of the sin of killing one's father, and his hair the form of lesser, less severe sinful activities. In this way, a horrible personality embodyingall the sinful activities and vices was created. His bodily colour is black, and his eyes are yellow.He inflicts extreme misery upon sinful persons."
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vishnu, upon seeing this personality of sin, began to think to Himself as follows: 'I am the creator of the miseries and happiness for the livingentities. I am their master because I have created this personality of sin, who gives distress to alldishonest, deceitful, and sinful persons. Now I must create someone who will control thispersonality.' At this time Sri Bhagavan created the personality known as Yamaraj and thedifferent hellish planetary systems. Those living entities who are very sinful will be sent afterdeath to Yamaraj, who will in turn, according to their sins, send them to a hellish region to suffer."
"After these adjustments had been made, the Supreme Lord, who is the giver of distress and happiness to the living entities, went to the house of Yamaraj, with the help of Garuda, the kingof birds. When Yamaraj saw that Lord Vishnu had arrived, he immediately washed His feet and made an offering unto Him. He then had Him sit upon a golden throne. The Supreme Lord,Vishnu, became seated on the throne, where upon He heard very loud crying sounds coming fromthe southern direction. He became surprised by this and thus enquired from Yamaraj, 'Fromwhere is this loud crying coming?'"
"Yamaraj in reply said, 'Oh Deva! The different living entities of the earthly planetary systemshave fallen into the hellish regions. They are suffering extremely for their misdeeds. The horrible crying is because of suffering from the inflictions of their past bad karma (actions).'"
"After hearing this the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, went to the hellish region to the south. When the inhabitants saw who had come they began to cry even louder. The heart of the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, became filled with compassion. Lord Vishnu thought to Himself, 'I have created all this
progeny, and it is because of Me that they are suffering.'"
Srila Vyasadeva continued: "Oh Jaimini, just listen to what the Supreme Lord did next.
etac canyac ca viprarsevicintya karunamayahbabhuva sahasa tatrasvayam ekadasi tithih
"After the merciful Supreme Lord thought over what He had previously considered, He suddenly manifested from His own form the deity of the lunar day Ekadasi. Afterwards the different sinful living entities began to follow the vow of Ekadasi and were then elevated quickly to the abode of Vaikuntha. Oh my child Jaimini, therefore the lunar day of Ekadasi is the selfsame form of the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, and the Supersoul within the heart of the living entities. Sri Ekadasi is the utmost pious activity and is situated as the head among all vows."
"Following the ascension of Sri Ekadasi, that personality who is the form of the sinful activity gradually saw the influence she had. He approached Lord Vishnu with doubts in his heart and began offering many prayers, whereupon Lord Vishnu became very pleased and said, ' I have become very pleased by your nice offerings. What boon is it that you want?'
"The Papa Purusha replied, 'I am your created progeny, and it is through me that you wanteddistress given to the living entities who are very sinful. But now, by the influence of Sri Ekadasi,I have become all but destroyed. Oh master! After I die all of Your parts and parcels who haveaccepted material bodies will become liberated and therefore return to the abode of Vaikuntha. Ifthis liberation of all living entities takes place, then who will carry on Your activities? There willbe no one to enact the pastimes in the earthly planetary systems! Oh Keshava! If You want theseeternal pastimes to carry on, then You please save me from the fear of Ekadasi. No type of piousactivity can bind me. But Ekadasi only, being Your own manifested form, can impede me. Out offear of Sri Ekadasi I have fled and taken shelter of men; animals; insects; hills; trees; moving andnon-moving living entities; rivers; oceans; forests; heavenly, earthly, and hellish planetarysystems; demigods; and the Gandarvas. I cannot find a place where I can be free from fear of SriEkadasi. Oh my Master! I am a product of Your creation, so therefore very mercifully direct meto a place where I can reside fearlessly.'"
Srila Vyasadeva then said to Jaimini, "After saying this, the embodiment of all sinful activities (Papa Purusha) fell down at the feet of the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, who is the destroyer of all miseries and began to cry."
"After this, Lord Vishnu, observing the condition of the Papa Purusha with laughter, began tospeak thus: 'Oh Papa Purusha! Rise up! Don't lament any longer. Just listen, and I'll tell youwhere you can stay on the auspicious lunar day of Ekadasi. On the day of Ekadasi, which is thebenefactor of the three worlds, you can take shelter of foodstuff in the form of grains. There is noreason to worry about this any more, because My form as Sri Ekadasi Devi will no longerimpede you.' After giving direction to the Papa Purusha, the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, disappearedand the Papa Purusha returned to the performance of his own activities.
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