2017-04-05 - 2017-04-06

Sri Ramanavami is the first major festival after Chandra Yugadi. Vasanta Rutu Chaitra Shukla Navami marks the birth of Sri Rama as the eldest son of Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya. The festival falls on April 5 this year. Apart from normal Puja, the festival is marked by distribution of Panaka or Lemon juice and Kosambari or salads, Seekarane, a mixture of chopped banana fruits, coconut and sugar. Rathotsava is also held as part of celebrations. April 7 is the first Ekadashi in the new Hevilambi or Hemalamba Nama Samvatsara. This particular Ekadashi is called Kamadaa EkAdashi. According to a legend mentioned in Varaha Purana, Lord Krishna narrates a story to Yudhishthira as told by sage Vasishtha to King Dileepa. As per the story, a young Gandharva couple Lalit and Lalita was living in Ratnapura, a prosperous city of yore. The city was under the rule of Pundareeka. While Lalit was a renowned singer, his wife Lalita was an established dancer in the royal court. While rendering a song, Lalit errs as his attention shifted from music to his wife, who was not present in the court at that moment. Meanwhile, a serpent in the court reported to the king that Lalit had faltered in his rendition due to the memory of his wife. The serpent opined that Lalit was more attached his wife than the master. Enraged by this, King Pundareeka cursed Lalit to be born as a giant cannibal of 64 miles high. His neck was like a mountain and the mouth like a large cavern, Lalita was very much worried as she was accompanying the monster-like husband, who was committing sins because of the curse. Once, she met sage Shringi and appealed to him to relieve her husband from the curse of Pundareeka. Sage Shringi advised Lalita to observe fast on Chaitra Shukla Ekadashi and request Lord Krishna to relieve her husband from the curse. Lalita followed the direction and after requesting Lord Krishna, got her husband relived from the curse. Thus, this Ekadashi came to be known as Kamada, which fulfils all the desires and provides relief from sins. ಚೈತ್ರಮಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವ ಮೊದಲ ಏಕಾದಶಿಯು ಇದಾಗಿದೆ. ಕಾಮದಾ ಏಕಾದಶಿಯ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆ ಹೀಗಿದೆ. ಗಂಧರ್ವರಾಜನಾದ ಪುಂಡರೀಕನಿಂದ ಶಪಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ ಗಂಧರ್ವ ದಂಪತಿಯ ಕಥೆಯನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಮರಿಸಬಹುದು. ಮುನಿ ಋಷ್ಯಶೃಂಗರು ಲಲಿತೆಗೆ ಉಪದೇಶಿಸಿದ ವ್ರತವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಈ ಮೂಲಕ ಲಲಿತೆಯು ತನ್ನ ಅಪೇಕ್ಷೆಯನ್ನು ಈಡೇರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಏಕಾದಶಿಯ ದಿನ ಏನನ್ನೂ ತಿನ್ನದೇ ಕೇವಲ ನೀರು, ಶುಂಠಿ-ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸುವುದು ಸರ್ವೋತ್ತಮ.