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Home > Temples of Kerala >Ekaadasi and dwaadasi Ekaadasi and dwaadasiEkaadasi is very important and considered sacred to Vishnu. The belief is that one who observes ekaadasi gets all material benefits besides the more important moksha or vishnusaayoojya. The day is associated with the names of the heroic king Ambarisha and the glorious sage Durvaasa and the incident has been described in detail in Discourses 4 and 5 of Navama-skanda (Book Nine) of Sreemad Bhaagavatha Puraana. Although every Vaishnava or votary of Lord Vishnu is enjoined to fast on the eleventh day of either fortnight of each lunar month throughout his life Ambareesha obviously took the vow for a period of one year only and that too in Madhuvana in order to impress on the people the advisability of fasting on this day. Chapter 178 of Agnipuraana also gives details of Ekaadasi. For the observance of vratha three thithhi days are to be reckoned, ie Dasami, Ekaadasi and Dwaadasi. Ekaadasi-vratha is observed in two ways known as bhoori-paksha-ekaadasi and aananda-paksha ekaadasi. For Bhoori-paksha-Ekaadasi the day starts from sunrise. For those who follow this Ekaadasi if Dasami falls on the same day there is no objection to observe Ekaadasi-vratha. On the other hand those who follow aananda-paksha, the day starts from four naazhikaas before sunrise and they would not take vratha if any portion of Dasami falls on that day. Instead they take Ekaadasi with portion of Dwaadasi as the fasting day and this is generally followed in Kerala. Among the Ekaadasi days in a year some of them are very important, ie Proshta-pada Sukla-Ekaadasi, Parivarthana¬ekaadasi, Kaarthika-sukla-ekaadasi, Uthhan.a-ekaadasi, Swargavaathal-ekaadasi, Magha-sukla-ekaadasi, Dhanu-sukla-ekaadasi and Bheemai-ekaadasi. Of these Swargavaathal-ekaadasi also known as Vaikunta-ekaadasi or Mukkodi-ekaadasi, is that which falls on the eleventh day of the bright fortnight (Sukla-paksha) in the month of Margaieersha (Dhanu). The general belief is that a person who observes Ekaadasi on this day attains moksha (liberation) and that it equals to the observance of three crores of ekaadasis. In case Ekaadasi day falls on Pooyam asterisk it is a holy day and one who observes fast on the day will be free from all sins and hence it is known as paapa-naasini-ekaadasi. Similarly the Ekaadasi falling along with Dwaadasi and Thiruvonam asterisk is known as Vijaya-ekaadasi and observing this Ekaadasi day with vratha will help a devotee to get release from bondage and obtain virtues and sacred glory. It is believed that Sree. Krishna gave the famous Geethopadesa to Arjuna on the Ekaadasi day of the bright lunar fortnight in the month of Vrschikam This day is observed as an auspicious day in the holy temple at Guruvayur and is known as Guruvayur Ekaadasi. This day has added importance at Guruvayur or three other aspects also viz, the prathishta (consecration day), the day in which the present pooja system was initiated by Adi Sankaracharya and the day on which SreeKrishna appeared before Melppathhoor Narayna Bhattathiripad for enabling him to describe the Lord in his famous work Narayaneeyam. (Narayaneeyam was complete on 28th Vrschikam 762 ME ie, December 1586 AD). The rituals of Ekaadasi contain complete fast on the ekaadasi day by taking only Thulasi-theerthha and one-day me. on Dasami and Dwaadasi. The fast is completed in the morning of Dwaadasi by paarana (taking fried paddy (malar) and water trickling over the leaves of Thulasi plant, after watering the plant). The thirty naazhikas (comprising the last fifteen naazhikaas of Ekaadasi and the first fifteen naazhikas of Dwaadasi) of this period considered as Hari-vaasara and during this period food and sleep are strict prohibited. It is the time for akhanda-naamajapa (continuous chanting of prayer Ekaadasis observed in all the Vaishnavite shrines particularly in temples dedicat to Vishnu, Sree Rama, Sree Krishna and Sree Vaamana, The Swarghvathil Ekaadasi is observed with great pomp in Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple (Thiruvananthapuram) ,and at the Sree Krishna temple (Guruvayur) Ekaadasis at Sree Rama temple Thriprayaar, in the month of Vrschikam (November-December) and at the Sree Rama temple Thiruvilwamala in Kumbham (Feb-March) are also important. . No explanation to week days is required. However, thithhi and asterisk are determined based on the synodical revolution and sidereal revolutions of the Moon. On an average the synodical revolution of the Moori takes 29 1/2 days. It is the interval of time between two New moons and is generally the period of a lunar month. It is divided into two fortnights called pakshas viz. the Sukla-paksha and Mahaalaya-paksha. Each paksha is further divided into 15, each known as thithhi, which is equal to one-thirtieth of a lunation or lunar month and is a lunar-solar day. A thithhi is further divided into two, known as karanas. Since the average duration of a lunar month is 29 1/2 days, two successive months are calculated at 29 and 30 days in alternation. Thus a lunar year has 354 days, short of 11 1/4 days of a solar year. In every 3 years the difference is adjusted by inculcating a month. The sidereal revolution is the one in which the moon completes one revolution within the Zodiac, and is equal to 27 1/3 days. The constellation of 27 stars is based on this calculation. Seemad Bhaagavatha Mahaapurafla, (with Sanslait Text and English translation) Part II, Third Edition 1995 rendered to English by C.L, Goswami; Gita Press, Gorakhpur,
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