Papankusha Ekadashi Vrat Katha · पापांकुशा एकादशी व्रत कथा

Krishna said that the Ekadashi of the bright fortnight of Ashvin is called Papankusha. On this day Vishnu should be worshipped for the fruit one desires, and by that worship one reaches heaven. The fruit others gain by hard austerities is gained on this day merely by bowing to Vishnu, who rests on the serpent Shesha, and such a person does not suffer at Yama's hands.

The story told for this Ekadashi is of Krodhana, a cruel hunter who lived in the Vindhya mountains. His whole life was spent in violence, killing and sin. As his end drew near, he grew terrified of death and of punishment at the hands of Yama.

In fear he went to the ashram of the sage Angira, fell at his feet and begged: he had sinned all his life; was there any way he could be saved? The sage, taking pity on him, told him to keep the fast of Papankusha Ekadashi in the bright fortnight of Ashvin with due rites.

Krodhana kept the fast as the sage directed. By its power all his sins were destroyed, and he went to Vishnu's abode.

Papankusha Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the bright fortnight (Shukla paksha) of Ashvin. Its story belongs to the series in which each Ekadashi's glory is told, often as Krishna's answer to the Pandavas. Its name joins papa (sin) and ankusha, the goad with which an elephant is controlled: the Ekadashi that reins in sin.

The published versions are in Hindi prose and differ in wording and in some names and details. The retelling above keeps only what at least two of the versions linked below agree on. For this year's date, see Ekadashi.

The katha is read or heard on Papankusha Ekadashi as part of the worship of Vishnu. Customs vary by family and region.