kamada ekadashi 2018 Dates, Procedure, Vrat katha & calendar

Full details of kamada ekadashi 2018

Who is telling story to whom?

Lord Krishna is telling the story to eldest Pandav Yudhishthira about the significance and prosperity gained by Kamada Ekadashi 2018.

Kamada Ekadashi 2018 – Story

Yudhishthira said, “O Janardhana! O Keshav, please tell me the significance of Ekadashi which falls in Shukla Paksha of Chaitra month.”

Krishna said, “Hey Yudhishthira, lion among kings, Shukla paksha Ekadashi of Chaitra month is known as Kamada Ekadashi. This Ekadashi is the first after the new year (Hindu new year). It is called Kamada because it can fulfill all your worldly desires. This is so auspicious that people can relieve themselves from all kinds of pains and sins. Even the most horrific sin like the killing of Brahmin (Brahman) could be removed from the fate.”

Krishna added, hey son of Pandu, let me tell you the story of the magnificence of Kamada Ekadashi. Guru Vashishtha narrated this story to King Dileep (the great-grandfather of Lord Rama). The story is about two demigods Lalit and Lalita. They were the couples who loved each other a lot. They could not be apart from each other for a long time. Lalit and Lalita were the citizens of a kingdom known as Bhogipur. Bhogipur was full of comforts, wealth and prosperity. It’s king, Pundareek had lots of demigods, sheers, and elves in his kingdom. One day Lalit, with other demigods, was singing in the kingdom. He suddenly remembered Lalita and missed his notes which lead to some disturbances in the song. Karkot, a snake, understood his thoughts and complaint to the king about the incidence. King got angry and cursed Lalit to become a demon who will eat raw flesh and humans.

Soon, Lalit turned into a giant demon with the very scary face, eyes like sun, nose, and neck like the steep mountain, hairs like trees on mountains. His arms were big and started bearing a lot of pain in this condition.

When Lalita came to know about the condition of Lalit, she fell into sorrow and started thinking to lift the curse from her beloved Lalit. She used to follow him in forests and cry on his condition. One day, while following him, she reached the Vindhyachal mountain. There was a hut of sage Shringi. She prayed to the sage and told him the whole story of how her beloved Lalit got converted into a demon.

Sage Shringi informed her about the shukla paksha ekadashi of chaitra month. He said, “Hey daughter of demigod, you should keep the fast on Kamada ekadashi. It is arriving soon and is so auspicious that it can remove all kinds of sins from the doer. You can forward the blessings of this fast to Lalit and he will turn into the demigod once again.”

Lalita did the fast and offered the prasad and blessings of brahmins to Lalit. She prayed to lord Narayana that the whole fruit of her fast should go to Lalit and he get converted into his previous form. As soon as Lalit took prasad, he got his previous form of demigod back. Then they lived happily and went to heaven after death.

Shri Krishna said, “In this way, O Yudhishthira, if someone keep the fast of Kamada ekadashi, they will surely get rid of all sins and live a prosperous life. The fruit of this fast is equivalent to the Vajpaiya Yagya”

Kamada Ekadashi 2018 – Fast Procedure

1. Kamada Ekadashi 2018 is celebrated to gain the blessings of Lord Krishna. The devotee could start his prayers by cleaning the area and placing an idol of Lord Krishna. Then they can offer sandalwood, flowers, fruits, dhoop, deepak to the lord.
2. Those who are keeping the fast can have a one simple meal made up of milk, fruits, dry fruits, nuts and vegetables on the day before Ekadashi, to keep their mind, body and soul at peace. This is Satvik food.
3. Grains, Moong, Wheat, Rice are strictly prohibited even for those who are not keeping the fast.
4. Fast begins from the sunrise of Ekadashi to the sunrise of Dwadashi. One should not eat or drink anything in this period.
5. The devotee should not sleep in the noon or at night during fasting. They can chant mantras, songs, prayers in the praise of Lord Krishna. They can also read Bhagwat Geeta or Vishnu Shahastranaam. The whole idea is to keep yourself engaged in the reverence of Lord Krishna.
6. After sunrise of Dwadashi, the devotee needs to offer food to the Brahmin and then they can break their fast by having prasad.