पापांकुशा एकादशी व्रत कथा (आश्विन शुक्ल एकादशी) · Papankusha Ekadashi Vrat Katha (Ashwin Shukla Ekadashi)

When Yudhishthira asked, Bhagwan Krishna said that the Ekadashi falling in the bright fortnight of the month of Ashwin is called Papankusha Ekadashi — meaning the goad that drives sin away. It destroys all sins, grants heaven and liberation, keeps the body free of disease, and bestows a good wife, wealth, and friends. Even a person who observes this Ekadashi only once, amid other worldly concerns, is spared Yamraj's torments after death.

One who fasts and keeps a night vigil on this Ekadashi attains, without any special striving, a divine four-armed form bearing Garuda's banner and a Vaijayanti garland, dressed in yellow silk, and journeys to Bhagwan Vishnu's abode. Such a devotee delivers ten generations each on the mother's side, the father's side, and the wife's side — thirty generations in all. Bhagwan Krishna says that worshipping him as Vasudeva on this day fulfills every desire, and the merit an ascetic gains only after years of severe tapasya can be obtained instantly on this day simply by bowing to Garudadhwaja.

Whoever donates gold, sesame seeds, land, a cow, food, water, shoes, and an umbrella on this day never has to face Yamraj. Even a poor person can make every day meaningful through bathing, japa, and meditation, and through homa, yajna, and dana to whatever extent they can afford. Those who perform homa, bathing, japa, meditation, and yajna are not harshly punished by Yamraj; those in this world blessed with long life, wealth, a good lineage, and a healthy body are simply enjoying the fruit of merit earned in past lives. Bhagwan Krishna says: O Yudhishthira, sin leads to a wretched state and dharma leads to heaven — there is nothing more to say than this. Thus have I told you the complete glory of Papankusha Ekadashi.