BREAKING THE FAST ON THE NEXT DAY.

Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira said, “O Supreme Lord, I have heard from You the glories of fasting on Deva-śayani Ekādaśī, which occurs during the light part of the month of Āṣāḍha. Now I would like to hear about the Ekādaśī that occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of Śravaṇa [July-August] . O Govinda, please be merciful to me and explain its glories. O Vāsudeva, I offer my humble obeisances unto You.”

The Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, replied, “O king, please listen attentively as I describe the auspicious influence of this holy fast day, which removes all sins. Nārada Munī once asked Lord Brahmā about this same topic. ‘O regent of all,’ said Nāradajī, ‘O you who sit upon a lotus throne, please tell me the name of the Ekādaśī that occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of Śravaṇa. Please also tell me which Deity is worshiped on that holy day, the process one must follow to observe it, and the merit it awards.”

“Lord Brahmā replied, ‘My dear son Nārada, for the benefit of all humanity I shall happily tell you everything you wish to know, for just hearing the glories of Kāmikā Ekādaśī bestows merit equal to that obtained by one who performs a horse sacrifice. Certainly, great merit is attained by one who worships, and who also meditates on the lotus feet of, four-armed Lord Gadadhara, who holds conchshell, disc, club and lotus in His hands and who is also known as Śrīdhara, Harī, Viṣṇu, Mādhava, and Madhusūdana. And the blessings achieved by a person who worships Lord Viṣṇu exclusively are far greater than those achieved by one who takes a sacred bath in the Ganges at Kāśī [Vārānāsī] , in the forest of Naimiṣāraṇya, or at Puṣkara, where I am worshiped. But one who observes Kāmikā Ekādaśī and also worships Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa achieves greater merit than one who has darśana of Lord Kedāranātha in the Himalayas, or one who bathes at Kurukṣetra during a solar eclipse, or one who donates the whole earth in charity, including its forests and oceans, or one who bathes in the Gaṇḍakī River or Godāvarī River on a full moon day that falls on a Monday when Leo and Jupiter are conjoined.”

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