Page:Hindu Feasts Fasts and Ceremonies.djvu/73

Rh He must avoid bad or cruel words in talking to people. He must fast day and night and devote his whole time to pure religious thoughts and prayers—all of which must relate only to the god Krishna. Ekadasi of the dark half of the month is as pure as that of the light half of the month. He who observes the Ekadasi strictly gets all the meritoriousness that is ascribed to the performance of charitable acts during the solar or lunar eclipses or to the performance of the Asvamedha or horse-sacrifice. The meritoriousness which is attained by an anchorite after performing penance for full sixty thousand years is acquired by him who observes but one Ekadasi-fast rigidly. The fame which is attained by a donation of 1,000 cows to Brahmans is acquired by him who observes a single Ekadasi correctly. The keeping of this fast is more meritorious than the giving of acres as gifts to Brahmans, and more holy than imparting the sacred knowledge of the Vedas to students. It is several times superior to feeding starving men, for it is the day most sacred to Vishnu. The observance of this fast on this day gives one eternal felicity in the