SAPHALA EKADASHI: LUMPAKA’s STORY

1st Ekadashi of the year. If performed with devotion and sincerity, it removes sins of previous births and wins the blessings of Shri Hari Vishnu. A king called Mahishmata had four sons. The eldest son Lumpaka was given to evil ways.


So the King exiled him. Lumpaka started living in the nearby forest and became a dacoit robbing passers by. He lived only on raw meat and fruits inhabiting a tree under which there was a murti of Sri Vishnu. However, Lumpaka never bothered to worship it at all.


Two days before Saphala Ekadashi, Lumpaka fell ill and could not fetch any food to eat. So he observed fast for 2 days. On the day of Saphala Ekadashi, he saw the Vishnu murti and prayed to Vishnu to relieve him from his illness.


The whole day he observed fast unintentionally and offered the fruits fallen from the tree to Sri Vishnu. Even this unintentional act of worship washed away his sins and he became virtuous. He was accepted back by his father and became a meritorious ruler.


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