दुःखशोकसमाविष्टः पीड्यमानो दिवानिशम् । कौंडिन्यस्याश्रमपदं प्राप्तः पुण्यागमात्क्वचित्
Overwhelmed by suffering and sorrow, tormented day and night, he once reached the hermitage of Kaundinya by the force of merit.
माधवे मासि जाह्नव्याः कृतस्नानं तपोधनम् । आससाद धृष्टबुद्धिः शोकभारेण पीडितः
In the month of Madhava, he approached the sage, who had bathed in the Ganges, his mind oppressed by the weight of grief.
तद्वस्त्रबिंदुस्पर्शेन गतपापो हताशुभः । कौंडिन्यस्याग्रतः स्थित्वा प्रत्युवाच कृतांजलि
By the touch of a drop from the sage's garment, his sins and misfortunes were destroyed; standing before Kaundinya with joined palms, he spoke.
धृष्टबुद्धिरुवाच- भो भो ब्रह्मन्द्विजश्रेष्ठ दयां कृत्वा ममोपरि । येन पुण्यप्रभावेन मुक्तिर्भवति तद्वद
Dhrishtabuddhi said: 'O best of Brahmins, have compassion on me! Tell me by what power of merit liberation may be attained.'
कौंडिन्य उवाच- शृणुष्वैकमनाभूत्वा येन पापक्षयस्तव । वैशाखस्य सिते पक्षे मोहिनी नाम विश्रुता
Kaundinya said: 'Listen with a focused mind, by which your sins will be destroyed. In the bright fortnight of Vaishakha, there is a renowned day called Mohini.'
एकादशीव्रतं तस्याः कुरु मद्वाक्यनोदितः । मेरुतुल्यानि पापानि क्षयं गच्छंति देहिनाम्
Observe the vow of Ekadashi on that day, as I instruct you; sins as great as Mount Meru are destroyed for embodied beings.
बहुजन्मार्जितान्येषा मोहिनी समुपोषिता । इति वाक्यं मुनेः श्रुत्वा धृष्टबुद्धिः प्रसन्नधीः
Mohini Ekadashi, when properly observed, destroys sins accumulated over many lifetimes; hearing this from the sage, Dhrishtabuddhi became serene in mind.
व्रतं चकार विधिवत्कौंडिन्यस्योपदेशतः । कृते व्रते नृपश्रेष्ठ गतपापो बभूव सः
He performed the vow as instructed by Kaundinya; when the vow was completed, O best of kings, he became freed from sin.
दिव्यदेहस्ततो भूत्वा गरुडोपरिसंस्थितः । जगाम वैष्णवं लोकं सर्वोपद्रव वर्जितम्
Then, having attained a divine body, he mounted Garuda and went to the Vaishnava world, free from all afflictions.
इतीदृशं रामचंद्र उत्तमं मोहिनी व्रतम् । नातः परतरं किंचित्त्रैलोक्ये सचराचरे
Thus, O Rama, the Mohini vow is supreme; there is nothing greater than this in the three worlds, among moving and unmoving beings.
यज्ञादितीर्थदानानि कलां नार्हंति षोडशीम् । पठनाच्छ्रवणाद्राजन्गोसहस्र फलं लभेत्
Sacrifices, pilgrimages, and gifts do not equal even a sixteenth part of it; by reciting or hearing this, one obtains the merit of giving a thousand cows.
इति श्रीपाद्मेमहापुराणे पंचपंचाशत्साहस्र्यां सहितायामुत्तरखंडे उमापतिनारदसंवादे वैशाखशुक्ले मोहन्येकादशीनाम एकोनपंचाशत्तमोऽध्यायः
Thus ends the forty-ninth chapter, named 'Mohini Ekadashi of the bright fortnight of Vaishakha,' in the dialogue between Umapati and Narada, in the Uttarakhanda of the glorious Padma Mahapurana, comprising fifty-five thousand verses.
युधिष्ठिर उवाच- ज्येष्ठस्य कृष्णपक्षे तु किं नामैकादशी भवेत् । श्रोतुमिच्छामि माहात्म्यं तद्वदस्व जनार्दन
Yudhishthira said: 'In the dark fortnight of Jyeshtha, what is the name of the Ekadashi? I wish to hear its greatness; please tell me, O Janardana.'
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच- साधु पृष्टं त्वया राजन्लोकानां हितकाम्यया । बहुपुण्यप्रदा ह्येषा महापातकनाशिनी
Shri Krishna said: 'Well asked, O king, for the welfare of the worlds. This Ekadashi bestows great merit and destroys the gravest sins.'
अपरा नाम राजेंद्र अपरा पुत्रदायिनी । लोके प्रसिद्धितां याति अपरां यस्तु सेवते
O King, there is another vow called Aparā, renowned as bestowing sons; whoever observes Aparā attains fame in the world.
ब्रह्महत्याभिभूतोऽपि गोत्रहा भ्रूणहा तथा । परापवादवादी च परस्त्री रसिकोऽपि च
Even one afflicted by the sin of killing a Brahmin, a destroyer of his lineage, a slayer of the unborn, a slanderer, or one who delights in another's wife—
अपरा सेवनाद्राजन्विपाप्मा भवति ध्रुवम् । कूटसाक्ष्यं कूटमानं तुलाकूटं करोति यः
O King, by observing Aparā, such a sinner is certainly purified; even one who gives false testimony, uses false weights, or commits fraud with scales—
कूटवेदं पठेद्यस्तु कूटशास्त्रं तथैव च । ज्योतिषी गणकः कूटः कूटायुर्वैदिको भिषक्
Whoever recites false Vedas, teaches false scriptures, or is a deceitful astrologer, calculator, physician, or priest—
कूटसाक्ष्य समायुक्तो विज्ञेया नरकौकसः । अपरा सेवनाद्राजन्पापैर्मुक्ता भवंति ते
Those associated with false testimony are known as dwellers in hell; but, O King, by observing Aparā, they are freed from their sins.
क्षत्त्रियः क्षात्रधर्मं यस्त्यक्त्वा युद्धात्पलायते । स याति नरकं घोरं स्वीयधर्मबहिष्कृतः
A Kṣatriya who abandons his warrior duty and flees from battle, forsaking his own dharma, goes to a terrible hell.
अपरा सेवनात्सोऽपि पापं त्यक्त्वा दिवं व्रजेत् । विद्यावान्यः स्वयं शिष्यो गुरुनिंदां करोति च
Even he, by observing Aparā, casting off sin, attains heaven; and one who, though learned, slanders his own teacher—
स महापातकैर्युक्तो निरयं याति दारुणम् । अपरा सेवनात्सोऽपि सद्गतिं प्राप्नुयान्नरः
Such a person, burdened with great sins, goes to dreadful hell; yet, by observing Aparā, he too attains a good destination.
महिमानमपरायाः शृणु राजन्वदाम्यहम् । मकरस्थे रवौ माघे प्रयागे यत्फलं नृणाम्
Hear, O King, the greatness of Aparā, which I now declare: whatever merit is gained at Prayāga when the sun enters Capricorn in Māgha—
काश्यां यत्प्राप्यते पुण्यमुपरागे निमज्जनात् । गयायां पिंडदानेन पितॄणां तृप्तिदो यथा
Whatever merit is obtained by bathing at Kāśī during an eclipse, or by offering ancestral oblations at Gayā, satisfying one's forefathers—
सिंहस्थिते देवगुरौ गौतम्यां स्नातको नरः । कन्यागते गुरौ राजन्कृष्णवेणी निमज्जनात्
Whatever result is gained by bathing in the Godāvarī when Jupiter is in Leo, or by immersing in the Kṛṣṇaveṇī when Jupiter is in Virgo—
यत्फलं समवाप्नोति कुंभकेदार दर्शनात् । बदर्याश्रमयात्रायां तत्तीर्थसेवनादपि
Whatever fruit is attained by beholding Kumbhakedāra, or by pilgrimage to Badarī's hermitage, or by visiting those sacred places—
यत्फलं समवाप्नोति कुरुक्षेत्रे रविग्रहे । गजाश्व हेमदानेन यज्ञं कृत्वा सदक्षिणम्
Whatever fruit is gained at Kurukṣetra during a solar eclipse, by giving elephants, horses, and gold, or by performing a sacrifice with proper gifts—
तादृशं फलमाप्नोति अपरा व्रतसेवनात् । अर्धप्रसूतां गां दत्वा सुवर्णं वसुधां तथा
Such is the fruit attained by observing the vow of Aparā; by giving a cow about to calve, gold, or land—
नरो यत्फलमाप्नोति अपराया व्रतेन तत् । पापद्रुमकुठारीयं पापेंधन दवानलः
Whatever result a man obtains by these, he gains by the vow of Aparā; it is the axe for the tree of sin, the forest fire for the fuel of evil.
पापांधकारतरणिः पापसारंग केसरी । बुद्बुदा इव तोयेषु पुत्तिका इव जंतुषु
It is the sun that dispels the darkness of sin, the lion among the deer of sin; just as bubbles among waters, or insects among creatures—