पौष-पुत्रदा एकादशी व्रत कथा (पौषशुक्लपक्षः)

In the Bhavishya Purana and Padma Purana, King Yudhishthira asks Lord Sri Krishna:

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 41, where Krishna answers Yudhishthira and tells of King Suketuman of Bhadravati. Chapter numbers differ between editions and translations, so treat this as a guide to that translation.

In ancient times, in the prosperous kingdom of Bhadravati, ruled the noble King Suketuman and his virtuous queen Shaibya.

Although the King possessed vast wealth, armies, and an affectionate populace, the royal couple had no children.

The King was perpetually tormented by grief, lamenting:

Deeply despondent, King Suketuman handed over royal affairs to his ministers and rode his horse deep into the dense forest, contemplating renunciation.

Wandering deep in the forest, the King arrived at the shores of the serene Manasarovar Lake, where white swans glided peacefully. On the banks of the lake stood a hermitage where a group of luminous sages (Munis) were chanting Vedic mantras.

King Suketuman dismounted, bowed low with folded hands, and prostrated before the holy assembly.

The sages welcomed the King warmly and asked:

Weeping, King Suketuman narrated his long grief of being childless and the sorrow of his ancestors.

The Vishwadevas smiled with divine grace and said:

King Suketuman observed the Putrada Ekadashi fast on that very day at the hermitage, fasting completely, chanting the holy names, and worshipping Lord Vishnu.

On Dvadashi morning, after completing his Parana, the King received the final blessings of the Vishwadevas and returned to Bhadravati.

In due course of time, Queen Shaibya conceived and gave birth to a radiant, heroic, and deeply religious prince. The prince grew to become an illustrious emperor who ruled with righteousness, performed many yajnas, and offered continuous Tarpan to his ancestors.

1. 1.Blessing of Children (Santana Prapti): Both husband and wife traditionally observe this fast together, praying for the conception, health, and spiritual character of their children.
2. 2.Worship of Lord Balagopala / Vishnu: Bathe the deity with Panchamrita, the five-nectar mixture of milk, curd, ghee, honey, and sugar, offer butter, sweet rice pudding (Kheer), yellow flowers, and Tulsi.
3. 3.Recitation of Santana Gopala Mantra, the child-granting mantra to Krishna as Gopala: Chant "Om Devakisuta Govinda Vasudeva Jagatpate, Dehi Me Tanayam Krishna Tvamaham Sharanam Gatah".
4. 4.Dvadashi Parana: Conclude the fast on Dvadashi morning with charity and prasad.

The Vishwadevas' instruction to King Suketuman began, as every Ekadashi vrata does, with the Sankalpa: a vow taken at dawn before Lord Narayana, naming Pausha Putrada Ekadashi and resolving to keep the fast, the night vigil, and the Parana that follows without lapse. Tradition holds that husband and wife take this vow together, since the fast's fruit of worthy children is asked for on behalf of the household as a whole, not one spouse alone.

The fast calls for abstaining from grains from sunrise to sunrise, with milk or fruit permitted for those unable to keep the stricter nirjala discipline. Worship of Lord Vishnu or the infant form of Balagopala is offered in the morning with Panchamrita, butter, kheer, and Tulsi, and repeated at dusk, when the household remains awake chanting the Santana Gopala mantra through the night, just as King Suketuman spent his single night at the hermitage in prayer rather than sleep.

The fast concludes with the Parana on Dvadashi morning, within the window the Panchanga sets for that year. Devotees feed Brahmins and give charity before taking their own first meal, exactly as King Suketuman did at the Vishwadevas' hermitage before riding home to a queen who would, in due course, bear the son his ancestors had been waiting for.

Pausha Putrada Ekadashi's teaching lies in the timing of King Suketuman's grief: he did not seek out this fast by careful planning, but stumbled upon it only after riding away from his throne in despair, ready to renounce the world rather than face a lineage with no heir. Krishna tells Yudhishthira that the fast's grace often arrives exactly this way, meeting a devotee not at the height of their effort but at the point of their deepest surrender, and asking only sincerity in return for what years of grief could not provide.