Sri Pandava Nirjala Ekadashiनिर्जला एकादशी

Among the many Ekadashis, Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi holds a uniquely beloved place in the heart of every Vaishnava — and the reason lies in the touching exchange between the mighty Bhimasena and his grandsire-guru, Srila Vyasadeva, recorded in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana.

Bhimasena, the second of the Pandavas, was a devotee of Lord Krishna and a man of unmatched physical strength. Yet of all austerities, fasting was the one he could not bear. His elder brother Yudhishthira Maharaja, his mother Kunti-devi, his brothers Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, and even Draupadi observed the Ekadashi vrata twice every month without difficulty. Yudhishthira repeatedly encouraged Bhima to follow suit. Bhima sincerely wanted to, but the "vrika-agni" — the wolf-like fire of hunger — burned constantly in his stomach. "I can give in charity," Bhima said, "I can worship Lord Keshava, but I simply cannot tolerate hunger even for the blink of an eye."

One day, summoning his courage, Bhima approached the great sage Srila Vyasadeva — knower of all the Vedas, compiler of the Puranas, and the spiritual master of the Pandavas. With folded hands he confessed his weakness and begged for a path that would still grant him the mercy of Sri Ekadashi. Vyasadeva first reminded him gravely: "O Bhima, anyone who eats on Ekadashi destroys his pious credits and walks toward hell. If you wish to attain the heavenly planets and avoid this fate, you must refrain from eating on both the Ekadashis of every month."

Bhima grew panic-stricken. "But great sage, fasting twice a month is impossible for me! Please give me some easier method by which I may yet please Lord Hari." Smiling at the helpless Pandava, Vyasadeva mercifully revealed a most confidential remedy. "During the waxing moon of the month of Jyestha, when the Sun is in Taurus or Gemini, there comes a single Ekadashi known as Nirjala — the waterless Ekadashi. On this one day of the year, observe a complete fast — without even taking a single drop of water — from sunrise on Ekadashi until sunrise on Dvadashi. Whoever successfully observes this single Nirjala vrata receives the full merit of having fasted on every Ekadashi of the entire year."

The sage instructed that one should perform only a token achamana with water no larger than a single mustard seed; anything more would amount to having drunk wine. Early on Dvadashi morning, after bathing, the devotee should give charity to brahmanas and only then break the fast in their company. Vyasadeva further explained that by this single fast, sins as enormous as Mount Sumeru or Mount Mandara are burnt to ashes like dry leaves. Bathing in all the sacred rivers, visiting all the holy tirthas, performing all yajnas — these are encompassed within the observance of this one day. At the time of death, the Yamadutas will not approach such a devotee; instead the Vishnudutas come with a celestial vimana and carry him to the spiritual abode.

Hearing this, Bhima rejoiced. He at once accepted the vow and resolved to observe Nirjala Ekadashi every year for the rest of his life. When he related the sage's words to his brothers, all the Pandavas — and Draupadi, who was already a faithful Ekadashi observer — joined him in the vrata. Because Bhima specifically resolved upon it and never broke it, the day is famously called Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi and also Bhimaseni Ekadashi.

Lord Krishna Himself declares in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana that any pious act — bathing in holy places, giving charity, chanting Vedic mantras, performing sacrifice — that is carried out on Nirjala Ekadashi is multiplied one billion times. Even hearing this katha with devotion carries the result of offering oblations to the forefathers during a solar eclipse at the conjunction of Amavasya and Pratipada. Such is the unfathomable glory of this brilliantly effulgent gem among Ekadashis.