After losing their kingdom to the Kauravas in a game of dice, the Pandavas were exiled and lived in the Kamyavana. Draupadi, the wife of the strongest, bravest and most noble of men alive at that time, the Pandavas, still had to go through the worst humiliation for any woman. Deep sorrow and anger at the injustice meted out to them, simmered in her.
As they spent their days in Kamyavana tormented by their fate, Sri Krishna, the Son of Devaki, visited their forest abode. All their hardships, the toils of their forest-bound life, momentarily dissolved as they beheld their Lord. Overcome by their love and devotion towards Him, Sri Krishna went on to reveal a powerful way for them to overcome their current adversity and gain back all the fortune and fame that had left them.
As per the lunar calendar known as the Chandramana Varsha, there are 12 months that are determined by the phase-cycles of the moon. The Adhik maas is an extra lunar month added to the solar calendar every three years so that the lunar and the solar years are synchronised, along with the agricultural cycle and seasons.
Scientifically, the Moon takes about 27.3 days to make one complete orbit around the Earth. The Earth orbits around the Sun once every 365.2422 days (= Earth’s orbital speed of 29.79 km per second). The Earth and the Moon in 27.3 days have moved as a system about 1/12 of the way around the Sun. This means that from one full moon to the next full moon, the Moon must travel 2.2 extra days before it appears again as a full moon, due to the curvature of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. This creates a variance of 10.87 days a year between a lunar year and a solar year. To compensate for this difference, the additional month is added after every 32.5 months on average.
Every month has a representative deity- the months of Karthik, Magha and so on are highly revered for their auspiciousness. However, since the Adhik Maas had no representative deity, it gained the name, “Mal-Maas.” ‘Mal’ refers to any kind of residual waste. No auspicious work would be undertaken during the Adhik Maas. Humiliated by such a reference to Her, the Adhik Maas fell at the feet of Lord Vishnu to redeem her from this infamy. Lord Vishnu, in all His compassion, directed her to Goloka, the abode of Sri Krishna.
In a sublime gesture, the Adhika maas humbled herself at Lord Krishna’s lotus feet. In response, Sri Krishna’s voice resonated with divine assurance, “Whosoever surrenders to me shall forever be cradled within my mercy and protection. You shall now bear my name – ‘Purushottama.’ Every splendour of mine shall be yours, and people shall revere you. Just as they receive blessings through worshipping me, they shall find the same grace in your presence.“
Krishna’s wisdom flowed like a river, “Among the months, Kartik, known as Damodar, shines a hundredfold brighter than the other months. Yet, the rare Purushottama month, arriving once every three years, possesses a power a thousand times greater than Kartik.”
Revealing the greatness of the Purushottam Maas thus, Krishna said to the Pandavas,
“O Pandavas, the noblest of men, seize this precious occasion of Purushottam Maas to chant, serve in my grace with devotion. Immerse in tales of my divine glory. One must never insult the Purushottam Maas and use this time for my worship. Draupadi’s humiliation itself is the fruit of such an oversight in one of her previous births,” said Sri Krishna, to the Pandavas.
“In her past life, she was Medhavi rishi’s neglected daughter,” continued Sri Krishna. “Left alone after her father’s demise, she faced hardships without marital protection. One day, sage Durvasa advised her to worship Sri Vishnu in the Purushottama month, assuring relief from her troubles. She, however, dismissed his counsel, deeming the ‘mal maas’ inauspicious. Her insult of the revered month earned her Durvasa’s wrath and a forewarning of future suffering as a consequence.
Reborn as Maharaja Drupada’s daughter, Draupadi endured humiliation during the infamous disrobing incident amidst a court full of illustrious giants of the Kuru Vansh. Once she threw up her hands in utter surrender and put out fervent pleas to me, I had no choice but to be instantly by her side. My divine intervention manifested as an unending length of cloth to protect her honour.”
Following Sri Krishna’s guidance to worship the Purushottama month, the Pandavas triumphed at the Kurukshetra battle, showcasing the boundless blessings showered upon worshippers of Lord Vishnu during the auspicious Purushottama maas.”
Let us also indulge in the worship of Sri Krishna, the Purnavatara of Sri Hari during this sacred month.
In the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says:
“I am celebrated both in the world and in the Vedas as that Supreme person: Purushottama.” – (BG 15.18).
The Lord of the Universe, Jagannath, is also known as Purushottama. His abode, Puri, is known as Purushottama-Dhama.
This is a period exclusively meant to immerse in the Bhakti of Sri Krishna, in the form of Katha, Kirtan, Manana & Sadhana.
The greatness of the Dvadashakshari mantra is immeasurable!
The Sharada Tilak Tantram says: “Dvadasharno mahamantrah pradhano Vaishnavagame“— The twelve lettered mantra, ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya’ – is the chief among all Vaishnava mantras. This mantra finds mention in Shrimad Bhagavatam and the Vishnu Purana. According to the Tantric tradition, the Rishi (seer or sage) who originated this mantra is Prajapati, but in the Puranic Tradition the Rishi is Narada.
This extraordinary mantra inherently carries the tremendous energy of countless sages who have been chanting this mantra for thousands of years. The Sadhana of this mantra is recommended to anyone wishing to be the recipient of Lord Vishnu’s boundless grace.
This twelve-syllable mantra is known as a Mukti (liberation) mantra or Moksha mantra. Chanting this mantra with devotion and dedication confers the ultimate freedom from the cycle of birth and death to the seeker.
Some famous sages and seers who have chanted this mantra include Narada, Vyasa, Shukadeva, Yajnavalkya, Kapila, Vashishta, Parashara, Ramanuja, Madhvacharya, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Just as Prahlad’s chanting of ‘Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya’, saved him from his demon king father Hiranyakashipu invoking Mahavishnu’s protection upon him, we can invoke Sri Hari’s protection too!
Chanting “Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya” invokes the power of the Sudarshana Chakra, a potent weapon of Lord Vishnu that protects devotees from negative energies and harm
This mantra of Lord Shri Vishnu is a panacea for the fulfilment of wishes. If you are also in a situation where any of your wishes have not been fulfilled for many years, then as per scriptures, this sadhana lubricates your path with Bhagwan’s grace. In no time you will see that your wishes, desired with pure intentions, will start getting fulfilled by the blessings of Sri Hari, bringing happiness, peace, and prosperity in your life if you stay course on your path of Purusharth.
🌸 Hare Krishna Hare Krishna 🌸
🐚Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya🐚
