Purnima Vrat Katha
Once in Dwapar Yuga, Yashoda ji said to Krishna – O Krishna! You are the creator and nurturer of the whole world, today tell me a remedy by which women get good fortune and all their wishes are fulfilled. Shri Krishna said – O mother! I will tell you a remedy in detail. To get good fortune, women should observe fasts on thirty-two full moon days.
Shri Krishna Ji further said that on this earth, there was a city named ‘Katika', full of many types of gems, of a king Chandrahas. There lived a Brahmin named Dhaneshwar and his wife was very well behaved and beautiful. Both of them lived in that city with great love.
There was no dearth of wealth and grains etc. in the house. They had only one sorrow that they had no children, due to which they were very unhappy. Once an ascetic came to that city. That ascetic used to eat food by taking alms from all the houses except that Brahmin's house.
One day, as usual, the ascetic was eating alms lovingly when Dhaneshwar saw all this act of the Yogi.
Dhaneshwar said to the Yogi – Mahatman! You take alms from all the houses but never take alms from my house, what is the reason for this? The Yogi said that alms from the house of a childless person are like the food of the fallen and the one who eats the food of the fallen also becomes fallen.
Since you are childless, I do not take alms from your house for fear of becoming fallen. Dhaneshwar felt very sad in his heart on hearing this and fell on the feet of the Yogi with folded hands and said – O Maharaj! If this is so, then please tell me the way to get a son.
You are omniscient, please be kind to me. I am very sad due to not having a son. You take away this sorrow of mine, you are capable. Hearing this, the Yogi said – O Brahmin! You worship Chandi .
After returning home he told the whole story to his wife and went to the forest for penance. After going to the forest he worshipped Chandi and fasted.
On the sixteenth day, Chandi appeared to him in his dream and said – O Dhaneshwar! You will have a son soon, but he will die at the age of sixteen. If both of you, man and woman, observe the fast of thirty-two full moon days according to the rules, then he will have a long life.
In the morning, you will see a mango tree near this place, climb it, pluck a fruit and go to your house quickly, feed it to your wife. After taking a bath during menstruation, she will clean herself, meditate on Lord Shankar and eat that fruit. Then, by the grace of Lord Shankar, she will conceive.
When that Brahmin woke up in the morning, he saw a mango tree near that place on which a very beautiful mango fruit was growing.
Dhaneshwar climbed the tree and saw a very beautiful mango fruit, the Brahmin quickly plucked the fruit and brought it to his wife and his wife ate the fruit as per her husband's instructions and she became pregnant. By the infinite grace of Goddess ji, she gave birth to a very beautiful son, whom they named Devidas.
The child started growing with the joy of the parents. By the grace of Bhavani, the child became very beautiful, well behaved and very proficient in studies. As per the orders of Durga ji, his mother started observing the fast of thirty-two full moon days, so that her son may grow up to a long life.
As soon as Devidas turned sixteen, his parents got worried that their son might die this year. So they thought that if this accident happened in front of them, how would they be able to bear it? So they called Devidas's maternal uncle and said that we want Devidas to go to Kashi and study for a year, so you go with him and bring him back after a year.
After making all the arrangements, his parents sent Devidas on a horse and his maternal uncle with him to go to Kashi. Dhaneshwar along with his wife started worshipping Goddess Durga and observing fasts on full moon days for the well-being and long life of his son . In this way, he completed the fasts of thirty-two full moon days.
After some time, the uncle and nephew stopped in a village on the way to spend the night. On that day, the marriage of a very beautiful, well behaved and virtuous daughter of a Brahmin was to take place in that village. Devidas and his uncle were also staying in the same Dharamshala where the groom and his wedding party were staying. By chance, when the rituals of mandap etc. were performed after offering oil to the girl, the groom suffered from tetanus at the time of marriage.
So, the groom's father, after consulting his family members, decided that this Devidas is as beautiful as my son, I should get him married and later other rituals of marriage will be performed with my son. Thinking this, he went to Devidas's uncle and said that you give your nephew to us for some time, so that all the rituals of the marriage can be performed smoothly.
Then his maternal uncle said that whatever Madhupark etc. the groom gets at the time of kanyadaan, if all of it is given to us, then my nephew will become the groom of this wedding party.
When the groom's father accepted this, he sent his nephew to become the groom and all the marriage rituals were completed with him in the night. He could not eat with his wife and started thinking in his mind that who knows what kind of a woman she will be. He got lost in this thought in solitude and tears also came to his eyes. Then the bride asked what is the matter? Why are you so sad? Then he told her everything that had happened between the groom's father and his maternal uncle.
Then the girl said that how can this be against Brahma marriage. I have made you my husband in front of God, Brahmin and fire, so you are my husband. I will be your wife only, never anyone else's. Then Devidas said – do not do this because my life is very short, what will happen to you after me, think about these things well.
But she was a man of strong thoughts, she said that whatever happens to you will be the same as my fate. O master! You get up and eat, you must be hungry. After this, both Devidas and his wife ate and slept for the rest of the night. In the morning, Devidas gave his wife a ring studded with three gems, a handkerchief and said – O beloved! Take this and take it as a sign and become calm.
If I am alive, I will definitely come back, otherwise consider that I am dead, saying this, he left. As soon as it was morning, the music started playing there and when the groom and all the baraatis came to the mandap to complete the marriage rituals, the girl, after seeing the groom properly, told her father that this is not my husband. My husband is the one with whom I was married last night.
I am not married to him. If this is the same person then tell me what I gave her, show me the ornaments I gave her during Madhupark and Kanyadan and tell me all the secret things I told her at night. The father called the groom as per her instructions. After listening to all this, the girl said that she did not know anything. After this, he left in shame and the entire baraat (marriage party) also returned from there in disgrace.
Thus Devidas went to Kashi. When some time passed, inspired by Kaal, a snake came there to bite him at night but could not bite him due to the effect of the fast because his mother had already kept a fast on the 32nd Purnima.
After this, Kaal himself came there at noon and tried to take out his life from his body, due to which he fell unconscious on the earth. By the grace of God, at the same time, Lord Shankar came there with Parvati ji. Seeing him in an unconscious state, Parvati ji prayed to Lord Shankar that O Maharaj! This child's mother had earlier kept a fast on the 32nd Purnima, due to which his death defect was removed.
On the request of Bhavani, the devotee-loving Lord Shiva gave him life. Due to the effect of this fast, even Kaal had to retreat and Devidas sat down healthy.
On the other hand, his wife used to wait for him. When the sixteenth year passed, Devidas also left Kashi with his maternal uncle. Here his father-in-law was about to leave his house to look for him when both uncle and nephew arrived there. Seeing him coming, his father-in-law brought him to his house with great joy. And later sent his daughter with him with a lot of money.
Shri Krishna said that in this way Dhaneshwar became a father of a son due to the effect of the fast of 32 full moons. The women who observe this fast do not have to suffer the pain of widowhood in their next birth and remain fortunate forever, this is my word, there is no doubt in it.
This fast gives sons and grandsons and fulfills all the desires. By observing the fast of 32 full moons, all the desires of the person observing the fast are fulfilled by the grace of Lord Shiva.