Brahma Vaivarta Purana
The Sage Is Rescued
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ENGLISH TRANSLATION
41.Then the king's guru came. Happily bowing before him, the king told him everything. 42.The king said: The dvädaçi day has almost passed and the sage has not returned. Now I am in great danger. O best of sages, please reflect on this and quickly tell me what I should do, what is good and not good for me to do. 43.After hearing the king's words, the great sage repeated the words of the Vedas, words that were auspicious, true, and the source of happiness. 44.Çri Vaçiñöha said: If the dvädasi passes and one breaks the fast on the trayodaçi, that breaking of the fast on trayodaçi destroys both the benefit gained by fasting and the person following the ekädaçi vow. 45.The Vedas say that act is like the sin of killing a brähmaëa. Lord Brahmä says that the food he eats to break the fast is like wine. 46.If a person does not feed a guest, but, feeling hungry, eats alone, he is a great fool. He goes to hell. 47.He stays in hell for a hundred years. Then he becomes a cänòäla. Birth after birth he is poor and diseased. 48.This is a very delicate situation. What can I tell you? I will think how in this great danger you can fulfill both religious duties (of properly welcoming a guest and breaking the ekädaçi fast at the proper time). 49.Protect the merit gained by fasting in this way: At once drink, O king, some water that has washed the feet of the Deity of the Lord. Drinking water is not eating. 50.O sage, after speaking these words, Vaçiñöha, the son of Brahmä, became silent. Remembering Lord Kåñëa's lotus feet, the king drank some water. |
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References
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