Aja Ekadashi Vrat Katha

Yudhishthira asked Shri Krishna about the Ekadashi of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada. Krishna said that it is called Aja, that it destroys all sins, and told this story.

Long ago King Harishchandra, famous for never telling a lie, ruled the whole earth. To keep his word, he gave away his entire kingdom. Because of the fruit of past deeds, he then had to sell his wife and son, and finally himself, becoming the servant of a chandala who kept the cremation ground. There he collected the fee for cremations and took the cloth of the dead. Through all this he never gave up the truth.

Years passed in this way, and the king was full of sorrow. He often wondered what he could do to be freed from his misery. One day, as he sat thinking, the sage Gautama came by. The king bowed to him and told him his whole story.

Gautama was moved by his suffering and said: "O king, in the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada comes a very holy Ekadashi named Aja. Keep its fast and stay awake through the night, and your sins will be destroyed." The sage told him that this Ekadashi was only a few days away, and went on his way.

Harishchandra kept the Aja Ekadashi fast as the sage had told him and stayed awake through the night. By its power his sins were destroyed at once. Drums sounded in the heavens and flowers rained down. He saw the gods before him, and his son, who had died, came back to life. He was reunited with his wife and son, got back his kingdom, and in the end went to heaven with his family.

Shri Krishna said that whoever keeps this fast, or hears this story, receives the merit of a horse sacrifice.