Uttara-khaṇḍa · Chapter 50
Sourceयुधिष्ठिर उवाच- ज्येष्ठस्य कृष्णपक्षे तु किं नामैकादशी भवेत् । श्रोतुमिच्छामि माहात्म्यं तद्वदस्व जनार्दन १। श्रीकृष्ण उवाच- साधु पृष्टं त्वया राजन्लोकानां हितकाम्यया । बहुपुण्यप्रदा ह्येषा महापातकनाशिनी २। अपरा नाम राजेंद्र अपरा पुत्रदायिनी । लोके प्रसिद्धितां याति अपरां यस्तु सेवते ३। ब्रह्महत्याभिभूतोऽपि गोत्रहा भ्रूणहा तथा । परापवादवादी च परस्त्री रसिकोऽपि च ४। अपरा सेवनाद्राजन्विपाप्मा भवति ध्रुवम् । कूटसाक्ष्यं कूटमानं तुलाकूटं करोति यः ५। कूटवेदं पठेद्यस्तु कूटशास्त्रं तथैव च । ज्योतिषी गणकः कूटः कूटायुर्वैदिको भिषक् ६। कूटसाक्ष्य समायुक्तो विज्ञेया नरकौकसः । अपरा सेवनाद्राजन्पापैर्मुक्ता भवंति ते ७। क्षत्त्रियः क्षात्रधर्मं यस्त्यक्त्वा युद्धात्पलायते । स याति नरकं घोरं स्वीयधर्मबहिष्कृतः ८। अपरा सेवनात्सोऽपि पापं त्यक्त्वा दिवं व्रजेत् । विद्यावान्यः स्वयं शिष्यो गुरुनिंदां करोति च ९। स महापातकैर्युक्तो निरयं याति दारुणम् । अपरा सेवनात्सोऽपि सद्गतिं प्राप्नुयान्नरः १०। महिमानमपरायाः शृणु राजन्वदाम्यहम् । मकरस्थे रवौ माघे प्रयागे यत्फलं नृणाम् ११। काश्यां यत्प्राप्यते पुण्यमुपरागे निमज्जनात् । गयायां पिंडदानेन पितॄणां तृप्तिदो यथा १२। सिंहस्थिते देवगुरौ गौतम्यां स्नातको नरः । कन्यागते गुरौ राजन्कृष्णवेणी निमज्जनात् १३। यत्फलं समवाप्नोति कुंभकेदार दर्शनात् । बदर्याश्रमयात्रायां तत्तीर्थसेवनादपि १४। यत्फलं समवाप्नोति कुरुक्षेत्रे रविग्रहे । गजाश्व हेमदानेन यज्ञं कृत्वा सदक्षिणम् १५। तादृशं फलमाप्नोति अपरा व्रतसेवनात् । अर्धप्रसूतां गां दत्वा सुवर्णं वसुधां तथा १६। नरो यत्फलमाप्नोति अपराया व्रतेन तत् । पापद्रुमकुठारीयं पापेंधन दवानलः १७। पापांधकारतरणिः पापसारंग केसरी । बुद्बुदा इव तोयेषु पुत्तिका इव जंतुषु १८। जायंते मरणायैव एकादश्या व्रतं विना । अपरां समुपोष्यैव पूजयित्वा त्रिविक्रमम् १९। सर्वपापविनिर्मुक्तो विष्णुलोके महीयते । लोकानां च हितार्थाय तवाग्रे कथितं मया । पठनाच्छ्रवणाद्राजन्गोसहस्रफलं लभेत् २०। इति श्रीपाद्मे महापुराणे पंचपंचाशत्साहस्र्यां संहितायामुत्तरखंडे उमापतिनारदसंवादे ज्येष्ठकृष्णापरैकादशीनाम पंचाशत्तमोऽध्यायः ५०।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca- jyeṣṭhasya kṛṣṇapakṣe tu kiṃ nāmaikādaśī bhavet | śrotumicchāmi māhātmyaṃ tadvadasva janārdana 1| śrīkṛṣṇa uvāca- sādhu pṛṣṭaṃ tvayā rājanlokānāṃ hitakāmyayā | bahupuṇyapradā hyeṣā mahāpātakanāśinī 2| aparā nāma rājeṃdra aparā putradāyinī | loke prasiddhitāṃ yāti aparāṃ yastu sevate 3| brahmahatyābhibhūto'pi gotrahā bhrūṇahā tathā | parāpavādavādī ca parastrī rasiko'pi ca 4| aparā sevanādrājanvipāpmā bhavati dhruvam | kūṭasākṣyaṃ kūṭamānaṃ tulākūṭaṃ karoti yaḥ 5| kūṭavedaṃ paṭhedyastu kūṭaśāstraṃ tathaiva ca | jyotiṣī gaṇakaḥ kūṭaḥ kūṭāyurvaidiko bhiṣak 6| kūṭasākṣya samāyukto vijñeyā narakaukasaḥ | aparā sevanādrājanpāpairmuktā bhavaṃti te 7| kṣattriyaḥ kṣātradharmaṃ yastyaktvā yuddhātpalāyate | sa yāti narakaṃ ghoraṃ svīyadharmabahiṣkṛtaḥ 8| aparā sevanātso'pi pāpaṃ tyaktvā divaṃ vrajet | vidyāvānyaḥ svayaṃ śiṣyo guruniṃdāṃ karoti ca 9| sa mahāpātakairyukto nirayaṃ yāti dāruṇam | aparā sevanātso'pi sadgatiṃ prāpnuyānnaraḥ 10| mahimānamaparāyāḥ śṛṇu rājanvadāmyaham | makarasthe ravau māghe prayāge yatphalaṃ nṛṇām 11| kāśyāṃ yatprāpyate puṇyamuparāge nimajjanāt | gayāyāṃ piṃḍadānena pitṝṇāṃ tṛptido yathā 12| siṃhasthite devagurau gautamyāṃ snātako naraḥ | kanyāgate gurau rājankṛṣṇaveṇī nimajjanāt 13| yatphalaṃ samavāpnoti kuṃbhakedāra darśanāt | badaryāśramayātrāyāṃ tattīrthasevanādapi 14| yatphalaṃ samavāpnoti kurukṣetre ravigrahe | gajāśva hemadānena yajñaṃ kṛtvā sadakṣiṇam 15| tādṛśaṃ phalamāpnoti aparā vratasevanāt | ardhaprasūtāṃ gāṃ datvā suvarṇaṃ vasudhāṃ tathā 16| naro yatphalamāpnoti aparāyā vratena tat | pāpadrumakuṭhārīyaṃ pāpeṃdhana davānalaḥ 17| pāpāṃdhakārataraṇiḥ pāpasāraṃga kesarī | budbudā iva toyeṣu puttikā iva jaṃtuṣu 18| jāyaṃte maraṇāyaiva ekādaśyā vrataṃ vinā | aparāṃ samupoṣyaiva pūjayitvā trivikramam 19| sarvapāpavinirmukto viṣṇuloke mahīyate | lokānāṃ ca hitārthāya tavāgre kathitaṃ mayā | paṭhanācchravaṇādrājangosahasraphalaṃ labhet 20| iti śrīpādme mahāpurāṇe paṃcapaṃcāśatsāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuttarakhaṃḍe umāpatināradasaṃvāde jyeṣṭhakṛṣṇāparaikādaśīnāma paṃcāśattamo'dhyāyaḥ 50|
English translation
Yudhiṣṭhira said :
1. What would be (i.e. is) the name of the Ekādaśī falling in the dark half of Jyeṣṭha ? I desire to hear (about its) importance. O Janārdana , (please) tell it.
Śrīkṛṣṇa said :
2-10. O king, you have, with the desire of the well-being of the people, asked well. (That Ekādaśī) is Aparā by name, O lord of kings. It gives unending fruit. He who observes the (vow of) Aparā becomes famous in the world. O king, he who is overcome by (the sin of) killing a brāhmaṇa , who kills (the members of) his family, who has procured an abortion, who censures others, who is interested in others’ wives, certainly becomes free from sin on observing the (vow of) Aparā. These, viz. one who gives false testimony, who uses false measures or false weights, who would study false (i.e. unauthoritative) Vedas , so also false sacred texts, so also one who is a fraudulent astrologer, who is a fraudulent physician, and one who is connected with false testimony are the residents of hell. O king, by observing the (vow) of Aparā, they are free from sins. A kṣatriya who giving up the duty of a kṣatriya, flees from the battle, goes, being expelled from his caste, to a fierce hell. He too, by observing the (vow of) Aparā, would, after shedding his sin, go to heaven. A learned disciple who censures his preceptor, having incurred great sins, goes to a fearful hell. That man also by observing the (vow of) Aparā would obtain good position (i.e. beatitude).
11-20. O king, listen to the greatness of Aparā. I am (now) telling it. A fruit similar to that which men obtain (by bathing) at Prayāga in Māgha , when the Sun is in Makara (i.e. the sign Capricornus of Zodiac ), or that religious merit which is obtained (by a man) after bathing at Kāśī on an eclipse-day, or the fruit which a man who offers piṇḍas to his dead ancestors at Gayā , gets, or which a man who bathes in the Gautamī (river) when Jupiter is in Siṃha (i.e. the sign Leo of the Zodiac) gets, or the fruit which a man gets on bathing in Kṛṣṇaveṇī when Jupiter is in Kanyā (i.e. the sign Virgo of the Zodiac), or the fruit a man gets on seeing Kumbhakedāra, or in the pilgrimage to Badaryāśrama and visiting holy places during it, or the fruit which a man obtains (by bathing) at Kurukṣetra when the planet Sun (is auspicious), or the fruit that a man gets by performing a sacrifice with (the giving of) presents and gifts of elephants, horses or gold, is obtained by observing the (vow of) Aparā. So also a man obtains that fruit by the Aparā-vow which he gets by giving (to a brāhmaṇa) a recently calved cow, gold, or (a piece of) land. This (vow) is an axe (cutting) the tree in the form of sins, and is a wild fire to the fuel in the form of sins. It is the Sun (dispelling) the darkness of sins. It is a lion (killing) the spotted deer of sins. Those who are without (i.e. who do not observe) the vow of (this) Ekādaśī, are born to die like bubbles in water or like ants among creatures. A man, having fasted on the Aparā (Ekādaśī day) and having worshipped Viṣṇu , is free from all sins and is honoured in Viṣṇu’s world. I have told (this vow) to you with the desire of the well-being of the people. O king, a man reciting (about) it and listening (to its account), would obtain the fruit of (gift of) a thousand cows.
Complete chapter-aligned witnesses. Sanskrit Wikisource page 44622, revision 336431 (2022-04-21T18:14:39Z). English is N. A. Deshpande’s complete translation, controlled against its chapter page at https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-padma-purana/d/doc365627.html and the ten-volume archival witness. The witnesses are aligned at chapter level; no unsupported verse-by-verse equivalence is asserted.