Pavitra Ekādaśī 2010

Sri Krishna told Yudhishthira of King Mahijit of Mahishmati, who ruled with justice yet had no son. Grieving, the king asked his ministers and priests to find the cause. They went into the forest and found the ancient sage Lomasha, who could see past lives.

Lomasha revealed that in a former birth Mahijit had been a poor merchant. One hot day in Jyeshtha, tired and thirsty, he had driven a thirsty cow and her calf away from a pond so that he could drink first. That act had left him without a son.

The sage told the people to fast on the Ekadashi of Shravana Shukla and give its merit to their king. They did so with devotion, the queen soon conceived, and a fine son was born. The vow is kept for the blessing of children and for purification, which gives it the name Pavitra, the purifying.