Pausha Putrada Ekadashi Vrat Katha · पौष पुत्रदा एकादशी व्रत कथा

The story of the childless King Suketuman, who met the Vishvadevas at a forest lake on Putrada Ekadashi and was blessed with a son, retold from the published versions.

The story, retold

Krishna told Yudhishthira that the Ekadashi of the bright fortnight of Pausha is called Putrada, the giver of sons, and told its story.

King Suketuman ruled the city of Bhadravati, but he and his queen had no son, and they lived in constant sorrow. Even the king's ancestors grieved, wondering who would offer them the funeral rites after him.

One day, deep in thought, the king rode alone into the forest, telling no one. He wandered among its animals and birds until, by midday, he was tormented by thirst. Searching for water, he came upon a beautiful lake surrounded by the ashrams of sages. Good omens appeared: his right side began to throb. He dismounted and bowed before the sages.

The sages, pleased, asked what he wished. When he asked who they were, they told him they were the Vishvadevas, come to bathe in the lake, and that this was the day of Putrada Ekadashi, which grants children to those who keep its fast. The king begged them for the blessing of a son, and they told him to keep the fast that very day, and by Vishnu's grace he would surely have a son.

The king kept the fast that day and broke it on Dvadashi, bowed to the sages and returned to his palace. In time the queen bore a radiant son, who grew up virtuous and ruled well.

Krishna said that those who wish for a son should keep this fast.

This katha is given as a retelling only: published versions tell it in different words and with different details, and we have not compared an original text for it. Every point in it appears in at least two of the published versions linked below.

About this text

Pausha Putrada Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the bright fortnight (Shukla paksha) of Pausha. Its story belongs to the series in which each Ekadashi's glory is told, often as Krishna's answer to the Pandavas. There are two Putrada Ekadashis in the year, this one in Pausha and the other in Shravana, and both are kept especially by those who pray for a child.

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.