Astha SangrahASTHA SANGRAHhttps://asthasangrah.comShri Prabodhini (Devutthana) Ekadashi Vrat Katha
The Prabodhini Ekadashi Vrat Katha is the glory of the Ekadashi of Kartik's bright fortnight, the day Lord Govinda wakes. In it Brahma tells Narada that the fast and night vigil of this day burn the sins of thousands of lives like a heap of cotton.
Chapter 1 · Narada's Question and the Glory of Haribodhini
Yudhishthira said, 'Krishna, I have heard from you the glory of Rama exactly as it is. Giver of honour, now tell me of the Ekadashi in Kartik's bright fortnight.' Shri Krishna said, 'Listen, O king. I will describe the Ekadashi of Kartik's bright fortnight just as Brahma, maker of the worlds, described it to Narada.' Narada said, 'Father, tell me at length the glory of Prabodhini, the day on which Lord Govinda, who sets dharma and action in motion, wakes.' Brahma said, 'Best of sages, hear the glory of Prabodhini, which destroys sin, increases merit and grants liberation to the wise.'
Only until Vishnu's tithi of Prabodhini arrives in Kartik do all the tirthas, from the sea to the lakes, thunder their own greatness; and the Bhagirathi Ganga on earth thunders only until the sin-destroying Haribodhini comes. By a single fast on Prabodhini a person gains the fruit of a thousand Ashvamedha and a hundred Rajasuya sacrifices. My son, what is hard to win, what is unattainable, what no one in the three worlds has even seen, Haribodhini gives unasked. Fasted on with devotion, it gives sovereignty, wealth, wisdom, a kingdom and happiness. Sins as vast as Mount Meru and Mandara, this destroyer of sin burns away with a single fast. The sins gathered over thousands of past lives, the vigil of its night burns to ash like a heap of cotton.
Best of sages, one who by nature keeps the Prabodhini fast with due rites gains the full fruit described. For a person who does even a little merit according to the rites, the fruit becomes as great as Mount Meru; and Narada, one who does merit as great as Meru without the rites gains only an atom of dharma's fruit. Those who meditate on it in their minds, and those who will keep Bodhini, their ancestors dwell joyfully in Vishnu's world.
They are freed from the sufferings of hell and go to Lord Vishnu's supreme abode. Even a person who has committed a dreadful sin such as killing a brahmin is washed clean of sin by keeping vigil for Vishnu. O brahmin, the fruit hard to win even through the Ashvamedha and other sacrifices is gained with ease in the vigil of Prabodhini. The fruit of bathing in every tirtha and giving gold and land is gained by keeping vigil for Hari. One who has kept this vigil is truly virtuous, and through him his family is made holy.
Chapter 2 · The Fruit of the Prabodhini Fast and the Kartik Vow
Best of sages, just as death is certain for a person, so wealth and the body are uncertain; knowing this, one should surely keep this Vaishnava day. All the tirthas in the three worlds dwell in the house of one who keeps Prabodhini; what need of many other merits has one who has kept Prabodhini? This Haribodhini of Kartik grants sons and grandsons. One who worships Haribodhini is the true knower, the true yogi, the true ascetic and master of the senses, and gains both enjoyment and liberation. This Ekadashi is dearest to Vishnu and bestows the essence of dharma. One who keeps it with devotion shares in liberation, and having fasted on Prabodhini, does not enter a womb again.
Therefore, Narada, one should keep it even setting aside all other duties. The sin gathered by deed, mind and speech, Lord Govinda washes away in the vigil of Prabodhini. My child, whatever bathing, giving, japa and worship a person does on Prabodhini for Janardana's sake becomes imperishable. Those who fast that day and worship Lord Madhava with devotion are freed from the sins of a hundred lives. Son, this great vow destroys masses of grave sin. One should fast with due rites on the day of Vishnu's waking; pleasing Janardana, lord of the gods, by this vow, a person goes to Hari's abode, lighting up every direction with his radiance. Those who desire radiance and wealth should keep this vow with care.
The sin gathered in childhood, youth and old age, the sin of a hundred lives, little or much, Lord Govinda, worshipped on this day, washes away. This holy Ekadashi, which brings wealth and grain, is a supreme tithi that removes every sin. For one who fasts on it with devotion, nothing remains out of reach. The fruit declared for an eclipse of the moon or sun is said to be a thousandfold in the vigil of Prabodhini. Bathing, giving, japa, homa, sacred study and Hari's worship done on Prabodhini all become ten millionfold.
All the merit a person has earned since birth becomes fruitless if the Kartik vow is not kept. Narada, one who lets Kartik pass without taking up Vishnu's discipline gains no fruit from the merit of a lifetime. Therefore, best of brahmins, one should serve Janardana, god of gods and giver of every wish's fruit, with all one's effort. My child, one who, with mind set on Vishnu, gives up others' food in Kartik gains the fruit of the Chandrayana vow. One who spends Kartik each day in the joy of discussing the scriptures burns away all his sins and gains the fruit of ten thousand sacrifices.
Chapter 3 · Hari's Katha, Worship, the Arghya and the Glory of Tulsi
In Kartik, Lord Madhusudana is not as pleased by sacrifices, gifts or japa as by the telling and discussion of scripture. Those who recite Vishnu's katha in Kartik and those who hear it with a good heart gain the fruit of giving a hundred cows, even for half a verse or a single line of one. Great sage, in Kartik one should set everything aside to study and hear scripture before Lord Keshava. One who tells Hari's katha in Kartik, whether out of longing for good or even out of greed, saves a hundred generations of his family. One who hears Vishnu's katha with discipline gains, in Kartik especially, the fruit of giving a thousand cows; and one who hears Hari's katha on the day of Vishnu's waking gains the fruit of giving away the earth with all its seven continents. Those who hear Vishnu's divine katha and honour its reciter as they are able gain an imperishable world. Narada, one who spends Kartik in the joy of song and scripture, I have never seen born again.
O sage, one who offers song, dance, music and Vishnu's beautiful katha before the Lord is a virtuous soul who stands above the three worlds. In Kartik, on the day of waking, Hari should be worshipped with many flowers and fruits, camphor, aloewood and kumkum, from which merit beyond counting is gained. In the vigil of Prabodhini, one should take water in a conch and offer arghya to Lord Janardana with many kinds of fruit and offerings. Whatever fruit lies in every tirtha and every gift, the arghya on the day of waking gives ten million times over. Divine sage, after that the guru should be honoured with food, clothes and dakshina, for the pleasure of the Lord who holds the discus. One who hears the Shrimad Bhagavata on that day or reads a Purana gains, for every syllable, the fruit of giving a Kapila cow. Best of sages, one who keeps the Vaishnava vow in Kartik as the scriptures direct, as far as he is able, has unshakeable liberation.
Worshipped with a single leaf of ketaki, Lord Madhusudana who bears Garuda on his banner stays well pleased for a thousand years. Divine sage, the mere sight of one who worships Lord Janardana with agastya flowers puts out the fire of hell. Worshipped in Kartik with the sage's flower, the agastya, Vishnu the supreme person grants every desired wish, like merit done at an eclipse of the sun or moon. One who in Kartik sets aside all other flowers and worships Keshava with devotion using the sage's flower gains the fruit of the Ashvamedha sacrifice. My child, those who offer tulsi leaves and flowers to Lord Janardana in Kartik have every sin of ten thousand lives burned away.
Seeing tulsi, touching her, meditating on her, chanting her name, praising her, planting her, watering her, worshipping her daily and bowing to her: those who practise this ninefold devotion to tulsi every day keep increasing their merit for thousands of millions of ages. O sage, for as long as the tulsi people have planted keeps spreading on the earth with its branches, twigs, seeds, flowers and leaves, all of their line, those already born, those yet to be born and those gone before, dwell in Hari's abode for thousands of years, to the end of the kalpa. Narada, the fruit that comes from all flowers and all leaves is gained in Kartik from a single tulsi leaf. Seeing that Kartik has come, one should worship Mahavishnu Janardana with tender tulsi leaves as a fixed discipline. The merit of worshipping the gods with a hundred sacrifices and of giving countless gifts is gained in Kartik by worshipping Keshava with tulsi leaves.
How to Read Shri Prabodhini (Devutthana) Ekadashi Vrat Katha
On Prabodhini Ekadashi, bathe in the morning and take the vow of fasting. Worship Lord Vishnu with many flowers and fruits, camphor, aloewood and kumkum, offer tulsi leaves, and keep the night vigil with song, dance, music and Hari's katha. During the vigil, take water in a conch and offer arghya to the Lord with fruit, then honour the guru with food, clothes and dakshina. Many families hold the Tulsi-Shaligram wedding the next day, Dwadashi (or on this same day).
About Shri Prabodhini (Devutthana) Ekadashi Vrat Katha
The Prabodhini Ekadashi Vrat Katha is told in three chapters. In the first, at Narada's asking, Brahma describes the glory of Haribodhini: a single fast on it equals a thousand Ashvamedhas, and the vigil of its night burns the sins of thousands of lives. The second gives the fruit of the Prabodhini fast and of the whole Kartik vow, such as the Chandrayana's fruit for giving up others' food. The third describes the glory of hearing Hari's katha in Kartik, of worship with many flowers, the conch arghya, the ketaki and agastya flowers, and ninefold devotion to tulsi.
This vow is kept on the Ekadashi of Kartik's bright fortnight, the day Lord Vishnu wakes from his Chaturmas sleep, which is why it is also called Devutthana and Haribodhini.
The Prabodhini Ekadashi Vrat Katha has no named author. It is the sixty-first chapter of the Uttara Khanda of the Padma Purana, in which Lord Krishna tells Yudhishthira the dialogue in which Brahma describes to Narada the glory of Prabodhini and of the month of Kartik. It contains no character's story. The text given here is a verse-by-verse translation of its 68 Sanskrit verses.
Benefits of the Prabodhini Ekadashi Vrat Katha
The katha itself says that Prabodhini grants sovereignty, wealth, wisdom, a kingdom, happiness, sons and grandsons, that one who fasts on it is not born again, and that one who hears Hari's katha on this day gains the fruit of giving away the earth with its seven continents.
Frequently asked questions
How many chapters does the Prabodhini Ekadashi Vrat Katha have?
It has three chapters, based on the 68 verses of the sixty-first chapter of the Padma Purana's Uttara Khanda.
When is Devutthana Ekadashi in 2026?
In 2026 Devutthana (Prabodhini) Ekadashi is on Friday, 20 November, and Tulsi Vivah is the next day, 21 November.
Who told the Prabodhini Ekadashi katha, and to whom?
In the Padma Purana, Lord Krishna tells Yudhishthira that Brahma described this glory to Narada, when Narada asked about the greatness of Prabodhini, the day Lord Govinda wakes.
How is the arghya offered on Prabodhini Ekadashi?
According to the katha, during the Prabodhini vigil one should take water in a conch and offer arghya to Lord Janardana with many kinds of fruit and offerings. Its fruit is said to be ten million times that of every tirtha and every gift.
What is the ninefold devotion to tulsi?
This katha names nine ways: seeing tulsi, touching her, meditating on her, chanting her name, praising her, planting her, watering her, worshipping her daily and bowing to her, and says that in Kartik worship with a single tulsi leaf equals the fruit of all flowers and leaves.
Does this katha describe the Tulsi Vivah?
No. This chapter of the Padma Purana describes the glory of worshipping tulsi, not the rite of the Tulsi Vivah. The Tulsi-Shaligram wedding is a custom kept the next day, Dwadashi (in many places on this same day).