The katha of Krodhan the hunter
A hunter named Krodhan lived on the Vindhya mountains. All his life he was engaged in violence, theft and wrong deeds. When his last days came near, one night he dreamt of Yamdoots talking of taking him away.
Trembling with fear, Krodhan reached the ashram of Angira Rishi in the morning, fell at his feet and said, 'O sage, I have sinned all my life. Tell me some way by which I need not go to hell.'
The sage said, 'Keep the vrat of the Ekadashi of the Shukla paksha of Ashwin — Papankusha Ekadashi — with full faith, and worship Lord Padmanabh. This Ekadashi puts a check on sins.'
Krodhan kept the vrat as the sage told him, took the Lord's name all day and kept awake in jagran at night. By the power of this vrat all his sins were destroyed, and in the end he went to Vishnulok.
Lesson of the katha
Prayer and repentance from a true heart never go in vain. That is why this Ekadashi is called the one that 'checks sin'.
This is OmKiran Bhakti's retelling of the traditional katha in simple English; details of the katha vary slightly from region to region.
