Parivartini Ekadashi Vrat Katha

Yudhishthira asked Shri Krishna about the Ekadashi of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada. Krishna said that on this day he, sleeping in the ocean of milk, turns over on his side, so it is called Parivartini, and that it is also called Vamana Ekadashi. Then he told the story of Vamana.

In the Treta yuga there was a demon king named Bali, the grandson of Prahlad. He was a devotee of the Lord, generous, truthful, and a great performer of sacrifices. By his strength and merit he conquered the three worlds and drove Indra and the gods out of heaven.

The gods, in distress, went to Lord Vishnu and prayed for help. To restore the gods without breaking dharma, the Lord was born to Aditi and the sage Kashyapa as Vamana, a small Brahmin boy.

Vamana went to the great sacrifice Bali was performing and asked him for a gift: only as much land as he could cover in three steps. Bali gladly agreed. His guru Shukracharya recognised the Lord and warned him, but Bali said he would not take back a promise made to a Brahmin, and poured the water to seal the gift.

At once Vamana grew to an immense size. With one step he covered the earth, and with the second the heavens. Then he asked Bali where to place the third step. Bali bowed his head and said: "Place it on my head, Lord." Vamana placed his foot on Bali's head and sent him down to the underworld, Patala.

Pleased with Bali's devotion and truthfulness, the Lord granted him a boon and promised to stay near him. Shri Krishna said that from then on, on this Ekadashi, one form of the Lord stays with Bali while the other rests on Shesha in the ocean of milk and turns on its side. Whoever keeps this fast and worships Vamana is freed from sins and goes to the Lord's abode.