Devutthana (Dev Uthani) Ekadashi Vrat Katha

Yudhishthira asked Shri Krishna about the Ekadashi of the bright fortnight of Kartika. Krishna told him what Brahma once told Narada: this Ekadashi is called Prabodhini, the awakening, because on it Lord Vishnu wakes from the sleep he began on Devshayani Ekadashi four months before. Its fast gives the merit of a thousand Ashvamedha and a hundred Rajasuya sacrifices, and staying awake through its night singing the Lord's name destroys the sins of many lives.

The story most often told at home on this day is this. There was once a king in whose kingdom everyone kept the Ekadashi fast, and on Ekadashi no one, not even the animals, was given grain. One day a man from another land came to the court asking for work. The king said: "You may have work, but on Ekadashi you will not get grain to eat." The man agreed.

When Ekadashi came, he was given fruit instead of grain. He went to the king and pleaded: "Fruit will not fill my stomach. I will die of hunger. Please give me grain." The king reminded him of the condition, but the man kept pleading, and at last the king had him given flour, lentils and rice. The man went to the river, bathed and cooked his food. Then, as was his way, he called out: "Come, Lord, the food is ready." Lord Vishnu came in his four-armed form, wearing yellow robes, ate with him with love, and went away.

At the next Ekadashi the man asked for twice as much grain, saying: "Last time the Lord ate with me, and I went hungry." The king could not believe that the Lord would come to eat with him, and went with him to see for himself, hiding behind a tree. The man cooked the food and called the Lord again and again, but the Lord did not come. At last the man said: "If you do not come, I will give up my life in the river," and walked towards the water. At once the Lord appeared, stopped him, sat down and ate with him, and then took him to his own abode.

The king understood that the Lord is won by a pure and loving heart, not by fasting alone. From then on he kept the fast with true devotion, and in the end he too reached heaven.