Page:Hindu Feasts Fasts and Ceremonies.djvu/76

60 Mukkoti Ekadasi which occurs in December—January? The following seems to be the explanation:—Krishna in the Bhagavadgita says to Arjuna that if he—the deity—is looked at in the light of months, he is the month of Margasira (12th December—11th January). The idea is that this month is more to the liking of the God. As the Mukkoti Ekadasi falls in the light half of this month it must have been held specially sacred by the Brahmans. This sacred day of the light fortnight of Margasira, this Mukkoti Ekadasi, is represented as a female deity in the Brahmanda-purana (the gender of Ekadasi is feminine) and to have originated from the body of Krishna himself. The statement of Krishna in the Gita that he is the month of Margasira among months and the story in the Brahmandapurana that the goddess presiding over this Ekadasi sprung from the body of Krishna himself must be the main reasons for the Mukkoti Ekadasi being held highly sacred by the Hindus. Apart from both these, there is another cause why the Vaishnavas deem this day most sacred. One of their great sages, Nammalwar attained his felicity—Vatkuntha—on this day, according to