Amalaki Ekadasi 2017

From the Padma Purana

King Yudhishthira asked Sri Krishna about the Ekadashi of the bright fortnight of Phalguna. Krishna told him it is called Amalaki, and that the sage Vasishtha had once explained it to King Mandhata.

Mandhata asked Vasishtha when the amalaki tree first came to be, and why it is so pure. Vasishtha told him that long ago the whole world was one great ocean. Everything moving and unmoving had perished, gods and demons were gone, and the Lord had returned to his own highest state. Then, as Brahma kept awake, a drop shining like the moon came from his mouth and fell to the earth. From that drop grew the great amalaki tree, its many branches bent low with fruit. It was the very first of all trees.

After it, Brahma created all beings: gods, demons, gandharvas, yakshas, serpents and the pure great sages. The gods came to the place where the tree stood, the tree dear to Vishnu, and were amazed. "We do not know this tree," they said.

Then a voice from the sky spoke. This is the amalaki, Vishnu's own tree, which takes away all sins. Vishnu lives at its root, Brahma above it, and Rudra in its trunk. The sages live in its branches, the deities in its twigs, the gods in its leaves and the Maruts in its flowers, and the lords of all creatures dwell in its fruits. The tree is full of all the gods, and so it is most worthy of worship for those devoted to Vishnu.

The sages asked who was speaking. The voice said, "I am that ancient Vishnu, the creator of all beings and all worlds." The sons of Brahma then praised him, bowing to the endless one, to Damodara, the lord of sacrifices. Pleased, Vishnu asked what they wished for. They asked for a vow, easy to keep and rich in fruit, that gives heaven and freedom. So Vishnu taught them the Amalaki vow, and then vanished. The sages kept it in full.

Vasishtha told Mandhata that this vow frees a person from all sins and leads to the world of Vishnu.

Another story

Long ago King Chitraratha (or Chaitraratha) of the Moon dynasty ruled the kingdom of Vaidisha, where everyone loved Lord Vishnu. On Amalaki Ekadashi the king and his people bathed in the river and gathered at a temple of Vishnu where an amalaki tree grew. They worshipped Lord Parashurama and the tree, and stayed awake all night singing the Lord's glories. That night a hunter, tired and hungry, hid nearby. He watched the worship, heard the singing, and stayed awake too. In the morning he went home and ate, and some time later he died. Because of that night he was born again as Vasuratha, son of King Viduratha, and became king of Jayanti. Once, lost while hunting, Vasuratha fell asleep under a tree, and tribesmen came to kill him. Their weapons could not touch him, and a fierce and beautiful woman came out of his body and killed them with a discus. A voice from the sky said it was Sri Keshava, who protects all who take shelter in him.