Once there lived a king by the name of Surasena. On one
occasion God Indra the king of Gods was flying over the kingdom of Surasena.
People of the kingdom could see the plane and suddenly the plane starts to
descend and lands. The king seeing the plane, in curiosity to meet the person
aboard on it approaches the plane. The king realizes that the person in the
plane is God Indra. The king approaches God Indra, prays to him and enquires
him the reason for landing in his Kingdom.
Sankashti Chaturthi
Vrat Katha
Indra pleased with the kings prayer, tells him that, a person
who has done countless sins saw his plane and hence the plane has landed. Indra
continues that the plane would fly only if a person who has a lot of virtue
would come forward and donate his virtue.
The king prays to Indra to show him a way, through which he can
send his soldiers to find a man with lot of virtue. God Indra replies that
today is Panchami and yesterday was Bahula Chaturthi or Sankashti Chaturi which
is also known as Sankata Hara Chaturthi. God Indra tells the king to find a
person who has fasted yesterday and by mere fasting on Sankashti Chaturthi, the
person would enmasses limtless virtue and if he could part with the virtue, his
plane would fly.
The king orders his soldiers to search for a person who
knowingly or unknowingly has fasted on the day before or on Sankashti
Chaturthi. As fasting on Sankashti Chaturthi is itself enough to gather a lot
of virtue. The soldiers search the whole kingdom and fail to find even a single
person. On their way back to palace, the soldiers spot the servants of Lord
Ganesha, known as Ganesha Duutas, taking a old woman who died with them.
The soldiers ask the Ganesh Duutas, who they were and where are
they taking the woman. Ganesha Duutas explain the soldiers that they were
servants of Lord Ganesha and were taking the woman to Swanand Loka the abode of
Lord Ganesha. The soldiers were astonished and were curious to know the reason
for taking the women to the abode of Lord Ganesha. The Ganesha Duutas, reply
that the woman was sleeping yesterday and hence was not able to eat or drink.
She died today and because of the fasting had gained so much virtue that she
was to be taken to Swanand Loka.
The soldiers request the Ganesha Duutas to give some virtue of
the woman, but the Ganesh Duutas refuse.
In the mean time, the plane suddenly starts and everyone is
astonished. Lord Indra realizes that the wind that has blown over the old
womans dead body has also blown over the plane. This wind gained a virtue just
by blowing over the dead body that the wind by just blowing over the plane was
able to start it.
The significance of the story is that one would gain
virtue that one cannot imagine by simply observing a fast. And if a puja of
Lord Ganesha is done, after observing the fast and seeing the moon in the
evening, the virtue would increase much more.
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