Kamika Ekadashi Katha

Lord Krishna once narrated the story of Kamika Ekadashi to the righteous Yudhishthira, who had asked how one could be freed from terrible sins.

Long ago, a devoted householder named Hema lived in a prosperous village. One day, a heated dispute over land broke out between him and a Brahmin neighbor. In the terrible confusion that followed, Hema accidentally struck the Brahmin, who fell and died. Hema was devastated. The sin of Brahminicide — brahmahatya — was considered the gravest of all sins.

He could not eat, sleep, or find peace. His family and friends shunned him. He wandered from sage to sage, seeking redemption, but most turned him away. Finally, he reached the hermitage of the sage Angira, who had great compassion upon seeing his suffering.

"There is only one remedy," said the sage. "Observe the Kamika Ekadashi — the Krishna Paksha Ekadashi of the Shravan month — with complete devotion. Fast throughout, worship Lord Vishnu with Tulsi leaves, light lamps before His image, and chant His names through the night."

"Know that offering even a single Tulsi leaf to Lord Vishnu on this day is equivalent to performing the Ashwamedha Yajna. The merit of this day burns away even the gravest sins."

Hema observed the Ekadashi as instructed. As he placed Tulsi at the feet of Lord Vishnu and spent the entire night in prayer, he felt the heavy burden of his sin gradually lift. At dawn, a divine voice from the heavens declared him freed from the sin. His grief dissolved and he returned home, later leading a life of great devotion.