Rishi Panchami Vrat Katha

King Yudhishthira said: O lord of the gods! We have heard many vows; now tell us yet another vow that destroys sin. Shri Krishna said: O king of kings! Now let me tell you of another vow called 'Rishi Panchami', by observing which a woman is freed from all sins. Yudhishthira asked: O Krishna! What kind of Panchami is this, and how did it come to be called 'Rishi Panchami', and from what sins does it free a woman, for, O Keshava, there are so many kinds of sin in this world?

Shri Krishna said: a woman who, whether knowingly or unknowingly, remains engaged in household work while menstruating and touches vessels and the like, incurs a great sin. Hear the reason for this, in ancient times, Indra, having slain Vritrasura, incurred the sin of Brahmahatya (the killing of a Brahmin). Ashamed of this sin, Indra took refuge with Brahma to be purified. Brahma, pleased, divided that sin of Brahmahatya into four parts, and distributed it into the first flame of fire, into rivers, into mountains, and into the menstrual blood of women.

It is for this reason that a menstruating woman must be carefully kept apart by all four varnas, on the first day of her period she is like an outcaste woman, on the second day like a slayer of a Brahmin, on the third day like a washerwoman, and she is purified only on the fourth day. It is to destroy this sin, born of such contact whether known or unknown, that the Rishi Panchami vow, which calms every sin and destroys every calamity, must be observed by women of all four varnas, Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra.

Shri Krishna said: O king of kings! Now let me tell you another story. In the Satya Yuga, in the land of Vidarbha, there was a royal sage named Shyenajit who upheld the duties of all four varnas. In his kingdom lived a Brahmin named Sumitra, versed in the Vedas and their branches, who supported his family by farming, and whose wife, named Jayashri, was a devoted woman engaged in serving her husband.

Being occupied with the work of farming, Jayashri once, while menstruating, touched household vessels while doing her chores. After a long time this devoted woman died, and some days later her husband Sumitra too passed away. Because of this very fault of contact, Jayashri was reborn in the womb of a female dog, and, through the fault of having touched her, Sumitra was reborn as an ox.

Sumitra's son Sumati, devoted to serving his father, was righteous and worshipped the gods and guests. Once, when the anniversary of his father's death arrived, he said with devotion to his wife Chandravati, O sweetly-smiling one! Today is our father's yearly rite; prepare the food purely, that we may feed the Brahmins. On her husband's instruction, Chandravati did just this, but a snake let fall its venom into the pot of kheer.

Seeing this, the female dog living in that house, who was in truth Sumati's own mother, fearing the sin of killing Brahmins, touched that pot of milk with her mouth. Seeing this, Sumati's wife, enraged, beat that female dog badly with a pestle, and then, with care, completed the rite and fed the Brahmins. When all the Brahmins had eaten, the hungry dog waiting at the door was not given even the leftovers, and so she had to go without food that night.

When night fell, that hungry female dog went to her husband, now an ox, and said: O lord! I am very hungry today; no one gave me even a single morsel. Every day, our son gave me fine food, but today he did not give me even the leftovers. Poison from a snake had fallen into the pot of kheer, and thinking that the Brahmins who ate it would die, I fouled that kheer with my mouth, for this I was beaten badly and bound, my body is in great pain, and my back is broken; what shall I do now?

Hearing this, her husband, the ox, said: O good woman! I too am helpless; today I too was bound at the mouth and driven to plough our son's field the whole day, and beaten as well, and so I too am very hungry. Our son has performed this shraddha rite in vain, for it has brought suffering upon us both.

Shri Krishna said: O Bharata! This very conversation between his parents was overheard at that moment by their son Sumati, and, recognizing them as his own parents, he fed them both that very night. Learning of this wretched state of his parents, he was deeply grieved, and set out toward the forest to learn its cause.

Going into the forest, he saw seven sages, aged in wisdom, and, bowing to them, asked: O sages! As the fruit of what deed did my parents come to this state, and how can they be freed from this sin? The sages said: O Brahmin! In her childhood, in her own home, your mother touched vessels even while knowing she was menstruating; as the fruit of that very deed she was reborn in the womb of a female dog, and, through the fault of her touch, your father became an ox. If you wish to free them both, worship the Seven Sages together with your wife, and observe the vow of Rishi Panchami.

Observe this vow for seven years, and at the end perform its udyapan, free from miserliness and deceit. During this period, eat only vegetables, or shyamaka grain, or wild nivara rice, and do not eat grain grown by ploughing. On the fifth day of Bhadrapada's bright fortnight, at midday, bathe in clear water, put on new, clean garments, and worship with devotion the Seven Sages, Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadwaja, Vishwamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, and Vashishtha, together with Arundhati. By observing the vow of Rishi Panchami in this way, the fault born of contact during menstruation is destroyed.

Shri Krishna said: O Yudhishthira! Hearing this excellent counsel of the sages, the Brahmin Sumati went home and, with devotion, observed this vow together with his wife, and by performing the all-sin-destroying vow of Rishi Panchami, granted his parents their due reward. By the merit of this vow, his mother was freed from her birth as a female dog, and, clad in celestial garments, ascended to heaven upon a fine celestial vehicle, and his father too, after death, was freed from his animal birth and, by the power of this same vow, attained heaven.

O best of the twice-born! The merit gained from performing this vow equals the merit gained from every vow, every place of pilgrimage, and every act of charity. Any woman who performs this vow becomes happy, endowed with beauty and grace and blessed with sons and grandsons, and, enjoying happiness in this world, attains the finest state in the next. O Yudhishthira! This excellent vow grants women complete prosperity, heaven, and children, and whoever reads or hears this story has all their sins destroyed.

Yudhishthira said: O Shri Krishna! What is the udyapan that grants this vow's complete fruit, and how did the Brahmin Sumati perform it, tell me this. Shri Krishna said: keeping the vow with devotion from the previous day, draw a mandala at a pure spot, cover a copper or clay kalash without any hole in it with cloth, adorn its neck with thread and with fruit, fragrance, akshat, and gold, and set it up covered with a woven cloth.

Cover a copper or clay vessel filled with barley with cloth, mark an eight-petalled lotus upon it, and, according to one's means and without any miserliness, have images of the Seven Sages made in gold. Tie up a five-coloured canopy adorned with fruit and flowers, worship these sages with devotion at midday, and keep a night-long vigil listening to sacred recitations.

After this, perform the day's regular rites and offer, with sesame and ghee, one thousand and eight or one hundred and eight oblations using Vedic or Puranic mantras. Worship the sages once more, and the one observing the vow should himself wear a gold ring, garments, and earrings and partake of food as fine as nectar, and give in charity a milk-giving cow with her calf, worship the seven officiating priests and present them with the kalash and other articles, and bow to the preceptor together with his wife, asking his forgiveness. Having satisfied the poor and the blind, fed the Brahmins, offered the golden images along with the articles to the preceptor, and taken his leave, one should then eat together with one's own family.

Shri Krishna said to King Yudhishthira, I have told this udyapan vidhi for those who desire its fruit. Whoever performs the udyapan in this manner is freed from all sins and attains heaven, and women, enjoying happiness in this world, blessed with sons and grandsons, sinless and fortunate, attain in the end an imperishable state.