Ṣaṭtilā Ekādaśī 2012

Sri Krishna told Yudhishthira the account first related by the sage Pulastya to Dalbhya. A devout brahmana lady kept many fasts and vows with great strictness, but she never gave food in charity.

To test her, Sri Krishna came to her door as a mendicant asking for alms. Annoyed, she threw a lump of clay into his bowl. After her death her austerities carried her to a heavenly home, but she found it empty, with no grain or wealth. The Lord told her the cause, and said that when the celestial women came to visit she should ask them about the Shattila Ekadashi. She heard the account from them, kept the fast, and her home filled with grain and riches.

On this day sesame, tila, is used in six ways: bathing with it, rubbing it on the body, offering it in the sacred fire, offering sesame water, giving it in charity, and eating it.