Padmini Ekadashi Parana Time : 13:37:55 to 16:11:08 on 31st, August
Duration : 2 Hour 33 Minute
Hari Vasara End Moment : at 11:40:59 on 31st, August
● Worship Lord Vishnu after taking bath early in the morning.
● Perform Nirjala Vrat and recite Vishnu Purana.
● Perform jagrans and bhajan-kirtans in the night.
● Worship Lord Vishnu and Shiva at every pehra of the night.
● With every pehra, present offerings like coconut in first pehra, quince (Bel) in second, pumpkin in third and orange & areca nut (Supari) in fourth pehra.
● On the day of Dwadashi, worship God early in the morning.
● Offer food and donation to the brahmins.
● After that, have your own meal.
It is believed that Padmini Ekadashi is very dear to Lord Vishnu. The person who devotedly fast for this day proceed to Vishnu Loka and gets fruitful results for every kind of yajna (yagya), fast and meditation (tapasya).
In Treta Yuga, there was a mighty king named Kitravirya. He had many queens, but none of them were able to give him a son. Despite all luxuries, the king and his queens were very miserable without a child. So, with a desire to have a child, the king and his queens went to the forest and started performing austerity. Even after meditating for thousands of years, his prayers were not answered. Then, the queen asked Devi Anusuya for a solution, who told her to fast for Ekadashi in Shukla Paksha during Mal Masa.
Devi Anusuya also told her about the procedure of fasting, which queen followed and thus fasted for Padmini Ekadashi. After completion, Lord Vishnu appeared and asked her to make a wish. She prayed to God to bless her husband with her wishes if he was happy with her prayers, so, God asked the king to wish. He wished for a son who should be multi-talented, respected in all three dimensions and who could not be defeated by anyone but God. Lord Vishnu granted him the wish and later, the queen born a son who was known by the name of Kartavirya Arjuna. In the long run, this child became a very powerful king who even made Ravana his captive.
It is said that Lord Krishna had first made Arjuna aware of the greatness of Purushottam Ekadashi by telling the story of this fast.