Jaya (Bhaimi) Ekadashi Vrat Katha (Magha Shukla)

In the Padma Purana and Bhavishyottara Purana, King Yudhishthira asks:

Bhagwan Sri Krishna replied:

For readers who wish to consult the text: in the Uttara-Khanda (the concluding section) of the Padma Purana, as numbered in N. A. Deshpande's English translation, this Ekadashi is told in Chapter 43, where Krishna answers Yudhishthira's question about the Ekadashi of the bright half of Magha. Chapter numbers differ between editions and translations, so treat this as a guide to that translation.

Lord Krishna narrated this celestial pastime from the heavenly court of Indra in Nandanavana:

In the heavenly world of Svargaloka, King Indra was enjoying music and dance surrounded by Gandharvas and Apsaras. Among the singers was a talented young Gandharva named Malyavan, and among the dancers was a beautiful maiden named Pushpavati.

During the royal assembly, Malyavan and Pushpavati became infatuated with one another. Distracted by mutual attraction, Malyavan lost his rhythm (Taala), and Pushpavati's dance steps faltered out of harmony.

Enraged by their lack of discipline and disrespect in the celestial assembly, Indra cursed them severely:

Stripped of their celestial beauty, Malyavan and Pushpavati fell down into the desolate, snowbound heights of the Himalayas. Their bodies became grotesque, foul-smelling, and tormented by biting blizzards and extreme hunger. They spent days and nights weeping in misery.

By divine providence, on the eleventh day of the bright fortnight of Magha (Jaya Ekadashi), the bitter Himalayan cold became unbearable. Tormented by shivering winds, the couple could neither find food nor drink water.

They sat beneath a sacred Peepal tree, unable to sleep throughout the freezing night, unconsciously spending the entire twenty-four hours in fasting, penance, and sleepless vigil (Jagaran). In their agony, they constantly remembered and cried out to God for deliverance.

When the sun rose on the morning of Dvadashi, by the supreme, inherent spiritual virtue of having kept the Jaya Ekadashi fast, their demonic curse was instantly dissolved!

Divine celestial chariots (Vimanas) descended from the skies. Malyavan and Pushpavati regained their luminous celestial bodies and returned to Indra’s heavenly realm.

Astonished to see them returned, Indra asked how they had freed themselves from his unbreakable curse. Malyavan replied:

Indra bowed with deep devotion to Lord Vishnu and reinstated them with honors.

1. 1.Freedom from Ghostly Rebirths: Observance of Jaya Ekadashi delivers souls from curses, evil spirits, and lower births.
2. 2.Strict Fasting: Abstain from grains and heavy meals; take fruit or milk if necessary.
3. 3.Chanting Vishnu Stotras: Read the Vishnu Sahasranama (the thousand names of Vishnu) or chant the Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra (the Hare Krishna chant).
4. 4.Dvadashi Parana: Conclude the fast on Dvadashi morning with charity and satvik prasad.

Before the fast of Jaya Ekadashi begins, the devotee takes the Sankalpa at dawn, a spoken vow before Lord Vishnu naming the Ekadashi and resolving to keep the fast, the night vigil, and the Parana that follows without lapse. Krishna tells Yudhishthira that it was precisely this kind of unbroken resolve, held through a single freezing night, that dissolved a curse Indra himself had called unbreakable; the vow is what turns suffering into an offering rather than mere misfortune.

The fast itself calls for abstaining from grains and heavy food from sunrise to sunrise, with fruit or milk permitted for those who cannot keep a stricter nirjala discipline. Worship of Lord Vishnu is offered in the morning and repeated at dusk, when the household gathers to chant the Vishnu Sahasranama or the Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra through the night, recreating in a small way the sleepless vigil that Malyavan and Pushpavati endured beneath the Peepal tree.

The fast concludes with the Parana on Dvadashi morning, within the time window set by the Panchanga for that year. Before taking any food, the devotee offers charity and satvik prasad to Brahmins and to those in need, following the example of Indra's own court, which honored Malyavan and Pushpavati only after their liberation was complete. Only after this offering does the devotee share in the first meal of the new day, closing a cycle that began the previous dawn with the Sankalpa and carried, through one long night of cold and chanting, all the way to the couple's return to Indra's heavenly court.

Jaya Ekadashi's teaching is carried by two who kept the vow with no idea they were keeping it at all. Malyavan and Pushpavati did not choose their fast; the Himalayan cold left them no food, no sleep, and nowhere to turn but toward God through the night. Krishna tells Yudhishthira that the fast's merit does not ask whether the austerity was chosen or forced upon the sufferer, only whether the night was spent turned toward the Lord. For the devotee who keeps this Ekadashi willingly, the lesson is sobering: if an unintended vigil could undo a curse from Indra, a vigil freely chosen carries no less power.