Apara Ekadashi Parana Time : 05:27:55 to 08:11:50 on 20th, May
Duration : 2 Hour 43 Minute
By fasting for Apara Ekadashi, people get rid from their sins and attain salvation. The Puja Vidhi for this Vrat is as follows:
1. The day before Apara Ekadashi, i.e. on Dashmi, do not have a meal after sunset in the evening. In the night, sleep while chanting the name of the God.
2. On the day of Ekadashi, worship Lord Vishnu after bathing in the early morning. One should offer Tulsi, Chandan, Gangajal and fruits for the pujan.
3. The person who is fasting on this day must not be deceptive, evil and speak lies. Rice is also not eaten on this day.
4. Recite ‘Vishnu Sahasranama’. A person who recites ‘Vishnu Sahasranama’ on Ekadashi gets highly blessed by the lord himself.
As depicted in Puranas, Apara Ekadashi holds a great importance. According to religious beliefs, the fruit that one gets from offering Pind Daan to the ancestors on the banks of river Ganga, the same is obtained by fasting for Apara Ekadashi. Similarly, the fruit one attains by visiting Kedarnath or Badrinath in Kumbh or donating gold on Solar Eclipse, is similar to one gained due to the influence of Apara Ekadashi Vrat.
In ancient times, there was a saintly king named Mahidhwaj. His younger brother, Vajra Dhwaj, had a sense of hatred towards his elder brother. So, one day he killed the king and buried his body under a peepal tree in the woods. Due to the premature death, the soul of the king became a sprite and stayed on that very peepal tree. The spirit used to haunt every person passing through that path. One day, when a Rishi was passing by from there, he saw the spirit. He used his power to find the reason for his condition. He lowered the king’s spirit from the tree and preached him about the afterlife. To free the spirit, the Rishi himself performed the Apara Ekadashi fast. On completion of the fast on the day of Dwadashi, he passed on its virtue to the spirit. With its influence, the king’s soul got free from spirit world and went to heaven.