Aja Ekadashi 2018 Dates, Procedure, Vrat katha & calendar

Aja Ekadashi 2018 Full details

Who is telling the story to whom?

Lord Krishna is telling the story to eldest Pandav Yudhishthira about the Ekadashi which occurs in Bhadrapada month during the dark fortnight or Krishna Paksha. Lord Krishna said – Hey King Yudhishthira, the most sacred and sin removing Ekadashi is the Aja Ekadashi. One who does a complete day fast becomes free from all his sins. Even hearing its name could relieve you from all your past sins. This is the most auspicious day in the whole year.

Aja Ekadashi 2018 Story

To praise the glory of Aja Ekadashi, there is a story of a very famous king, Harishchandra. Harishchandra was a great man. He never lied in his life and he himself signifies truth and honesty. Due to his past birth sins, he suffered a lot in his life but never backed down from his path of righteousness.

There is a saying, you will need to face your deeds, be it in this birth or other. Harishchandra was a great king but destiny is supremely powerful and he lost everything. Even he had to sell his all belongings, wife, child and himself. He became a cloth provider of dead bodies during the funeral.

He was living a painful life. Miseries were endless. Years were passing and nothing was changing. He went into deep grief and stress, thinking why it is happening and for how long will this continue.

One day a sage was passing from there. King Harishchandra served the sage with whatever he had. The sage was Gautam Muni. He saw Harishchandra and thought how a mighty king like him be in this condition? He said, “Hey king Harishchandra, you are a lesson for this world. Nobody is as honest as you. But time is powerful. Everybody needs to pay the debt of their deeds. Your miseries are the outcomes of your previous birth sins. But O great king, I cannot see you in this condition and so I am telling you the way to get rid of all these miseries. There is a very auspicious day in a year. It’s the Ekadashi of Bhadrapada. We call it the Aja or Annada Ekadashi. Fortunately, it is going to arrive in 7 days. Just do one thing, fast for the complete day on Aja Ekadashi and be awake in the night. You don’t need to do any austerity. Your all miseries will come to an end.” Saying so and Gautam Muni disappeared immediately.

King Harishchandra did what he was told and his miseries came to an end. He got reunited with his family. After death, the king of heaven welcomes him with flowers and drums. Even his relatives and all those who heard the story went to heaven.

So, Hey elder son of Pandu and king of righteousness, Yudhishthira, whoever fasts on this day, surely gets relieved from all their pains and miseries. This was the story of the glory of Aja Ekadashi.

Aja Ekadashi 2018 Prayer Procedure (Rituals)

1. Only consume less spicy vegetables, the day before Aja Ekadashi 2018. This will clean your mind, heart, and soul.
2. On the day of Aja Ekadashi, wake up early in the morning with the sunrise. Take a bath with mud and sesame seeds.
3. Wash the prayer area and clean it. Put some rice on the cleaned area.
4. Place a Vase (Kalash) over the rice and cover it with a red cloth. You will then need to put an idol of Lord Vishnu on top of it.
5. Lit a Ghee lamp (Diya) and offer fruits, flowers & other items to Lord Vishnu.
6. According to your willpower, you can fast without water, with water, with fruit or with one-time latex food. You need to decide it before starting your fast because you are showing your commitment to the lord by sacrificing your comfort. You should know how much you can handle. Starting fast with  Grains, rice, cereals are strictly prohibited.
7. At night you should not sleep. Keep yourself engaged in the meditation of Lord Vishnu. You should read Bhagwat Geeta or Vishnu Sahastranam.
8. Keep yourself away from materialistic things and follow the principle of Brahmacharya.
9. The next morning offer food to the Brahmins. After that, all the members of the family should have food in the form of prasad.
10. Brinjal is prohibited in your food.