superiority of Vaishakh month

Vaishakhmas Mahatmya – From Skanda Purana
Narayanam namaskritya naram chaiva narottam.
Goddess Saraswati Vyasam Tato Jaimudirayet.
Meaning – After paying obeisance to Lord Narayana, the best human being, Goddess Saraswati and Maharishi Vedvyas, one should recite the history-puranas etc. which are full of the story of God’s victory.

Sutji says – King Ambarish heard the greatness of the virtuous month of Vaishakh from Devarshi Narad, son of Supreme Lord Brahma. At that time you had said that Vaishakh month is the best among all the months. Therefore, please tell why Vaishakh month is dear to Lord Vishnu and which religions are dear to Lord Vishnu at that time?

Narad ji said – Brahma ji has proved the month of Vaishakh to be the best among all the months. Like a mother, she always provides the desired things to all living beings. Religion is the essence of yagya, action and penance. Worshiped by all the gods.Like Veda-vidya among the knowledge, Pranav among the mantras, Kalpavriksha among the trees, Kamdhenu among the gods, Vishnu among the gods, Brahmin among the varnas, Prana among the beloved things, Gangaji among the rivers, Surya among the rays, Chakra among the weapons, Gold among the metals, Among Vaishnavas, Shiva is there and Kaustubhamani is among the gems, similarly, Vaishakh month is the best among the months used for religion.There is no other month in the world that pleases Lord Vishnu like this. Lord Vishnu continues to love the one who takes bath before sunrise in the month of Vaishakh. Sins roar only until the soul does not take bath in water in the morning in the month of Vaishakh.

Rajan! During the month of Vaishakh, the deities of all the places of pilgrimage are always present in the outside water as well. By the order of Lord Vishnu, they remain present there from sunrise till within six days for the welfare of human beings. There is no month like Vaishakh, there is no era like Satyayuga, there is no scripture like Veda and there is no pilgrimage like Gangaji.There is no charity like water, there is no wealth like farming and there is no benefit greater than life. There is no austerity equal to fasting, no happiness greater than charity, no religion equal to kindness, no friend equal to religion, no fame equal to truth, no progress equal to health, no protector greater than Lord Vishnu and no equal to the month of Vaishakh. There is no holy month in the world. This is the opinion of learned men.

Vaishakh is the best month and Sheshshayi is always dear to Lord Vishnu. The virtue that is derived from all donations and the fruit that is obtained from all pilgrimages, a person achieves the same by simply donating water in the month of Vaishakh. It is appropriate for a person who is incapable of donating water and aspiring for wealth to enlighten others and make others understand the importance of donating water.This is more beneficial than all donations. The person who sets up a platform for travelers on the road during Vaishakh is respected in Vishnuloka.The best! Prapadana (Pyau) is very endearing to the gods, ancestors and sages. The one who has satisfied the tired people on the road by setting up a water table, has satisfied the gods like Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Rajan! In the month of Vaishakh, one who wants water should be given water, one who wants shade should be given an umbrella and one who wants a fan should be given a fan.Rajendra! One who provides cool water to a great man suffering from thirst, gets the fruits of ten thousand Rajsuya Yagyas by that very amount. A Brahmin who is suffering from heat and hard work by fanning him and fanning him, by that very act he becomes free from sin and becomes an associate of God.
One who, even with a cloth, wraps around a noble Dwija who is tired on the way, becomes free only by that and attains the union of Lord Vishnu.One who gives a palm fan with a pure mind, after destroying all sins, goes to Brahmalok. One who loves Vishnupriya and donates Paduka in the month of Vaishakh, he goes to Vishnuloka disrespecting the Yamdoots. The reward of good deeds cannot be described for the one who builds a rest house for orphans to stay on the way. If someone gives food to a Brahmin guest who has come in the afternoon, there is no end to its consequences.Rajan! Donating food instantly satisfies people, hence there is no donation like food in the world. The virtuous results of a person who provides shelter to a weary Brahmin on the way cannot be described. Bhupal! The one who gives food makes one forget one’s parents etc., that is why the residents of all three worlds praise food donation. Mother and father are only for the purpose of birth, but the one who provides food and nurtures, the wise man is called father in this world.

rules of vaishakh bath

There was a king named Mahirath who was always engrossed in desires and was Ajitendriya. He automatically went to Vaikuntha Dham only on the occasion of Vaishakh bath. The deity of Vaishakh month is Lord Madhusudan. Hence it is a successful month. The mantra for praying to God in the month of Vaishakh is as follows –

madhusoodan devesh vaishaakhe meshage ravau. praatah snaan karishyaami nirvighnan kuru maadhav.

Meaning – Oh Madhusudan! Hey Deveshwar Madhav! I will take bath in the morning in the month of Vaishakh when the Sun is situated in Aries, you complete it without any hindrance.

After that, Arghya should be offered with the following mantra –

vaishaakhe meshage bhaanau: praatah snaan karana. arghyan teshaan pradaasyaami grhaana madhusoodan.

Meaning – In the month of Vaishakh when the Sun is situated in the Aries sign, I offer you Arghya which is included in the morning bathing ritual. Madhusudan! Take it.

In this way, after offering Arghya, take bath, then after wearing clothes, complete all the rituals like Sandhya Tarpan etc. and worship Lord Vishnu with the flowers that grow in the month of Vaishakh. After that listen to the story of Lord Vishnu informing about the greatness of Vaishakh month.By doing this, a person becomes liberated from the sins of millions of births and attains salvation. This body is under your control, water is also under your control, and your tongue is also under your control. Therefore, after taking bath in independent water with this independent body, pronounce these two syllables “Hari” with independent tongue.One who worships Lord Vishnu with Tulsidal in the month of Vaishakh, attains salvation from Vishnu’s Sayujya. Therefore, one should meditate on the service of Lord Vishnu and his good or bad form with undivided attention through many types of devotional paths and through various types of fasts.

Hemant’s salvation by donating an umbrella in the month of Vaishakh

Naradji says – Once in the afternoon, a great sage by the name of Shrutdev, who was knowledgeable in the Vedas, came to the house of Videhraj Janak. Seeing him, the king stood up with great joy and after worshiping him ritually with honey and other materials, the king wore his lotus feet on his head.Thus, after the welcome, when he sat on the seat, according to the question of Videhraj, while describing the greatness of the month of Vaishakh, he spoke as follows.
Shrutdev said – King! Those who, in the month of Vaishakh, extend an umbrella over the great men who are troubled by the sun, attain eternal virtue. Let us give an example from ancient history in this regard.

Earlier there was a famous king named Hemkant in the country of Vanga. He was the son of Kushketu, extremely intelligent and the best among weapons. One day, being engrossed in hunting, he entered a deep forest. When he became very tired after killing many types of deer and boar etc. animals, he came to the hermitage of sages in the afternoon.At that time, a sage named Shatarchi, who followed the best fasts, was sitting in trance at the ashram, who had no knowledge of outside activities.Seeing them sitting motionless, the king got very angry and decided to kill those sages. Then ten thousand disciples of those sages forbade the king and said – “O king of false intelligence! Our gurus are currently in samadhi, they do not know what is happening outside, hence you should not get angry at them.”Then the king, overcome with anger, said to his disciples – O twin princes! I have come here tired and weary from the journey. Therefore, you people should give me hospitality. When the king said this, the disciples said – “We are going to eat by begging. The Gurus have not permitted us to entertain anyone. We are completely subordinate to the Guru. So I can show you hospitality.” On receiving this blank reply from the disciples, the king picked up the bow to kill them and said thus – “Those whom I have protected many times from the fear of violent creatures and robbers etc., who survive only on the donations given by me, today I have to face them. We have been teaching only this. They don’t know me, they are all ungrateful and very arrogant. I will not feel guilty even if I kill these terrorists.” Saying this he became angry and started shooting arrows from the bow.

The poor disciple left the ashram and ran away in fear. Even when he fled, Hemkant chased him and killed three hundred disciples. When the disciples fled, whatever material was there at the ashram was looted by the king’s sinful soldiers. He ate food there as per his wish only with the approval of the king.After that, as the days passed, the king came to his Puri with his army. When King Kushketu heard about this unjust action of his son, he condemned him and exiled him, considering him unfit to rule the kingdom. After being abandoned by his father, Hemkant went into the dense forest. He lived there for many years. Brahmahatya always followed him, hence he was not able to live stably anywhere.In this way twenty-eight years of that evil spirit passed. One day in the month of Vaishakh, when it was afternoon, Mahamuni Trita came to that forest on the occasion of pilgrimage. He was extremely irritated by the sun and was suffering from thirst, hence he fell unconscious in a treeless area.By chance, Hemkant came there and seeing the sage suffering from thirst, unconscious and tired, he took great pity on him. He protected them from the sunlight by making an umbrella from Palash leaves. He himself stood with an umbrella over the sage’s head and poured the water kept in the tumbler into his mouth.With this treatment the sage regained consciousness and removed his anxiety by taking the leaf umbrella given by the Kshatriya. His senses regained some strength and he slowly reached a village. Due to the influence of that virtue, Hemkant’s three hundred Brahmahatyas were destroyed. At this time, Yamraj’s messengers came to the forest to take Hemkant.To take his life they created Sangharani disease. At that time, struggling with the pain of losing his life, Hemkant saw three very fierce Yamdoots whose hair was raised upwards. Remembering his actions at that time he became silent. Due to the effect of donating the umbrella, he remembered Lord Vishnu.On remembering him, Mahavishnu said to Vishvak Sen – “You go quickly, stop the Yamdoots, protect Hemkant. Now he has become sinless and my devotee. Take him to the city and hand him over to his father. Also, on my request, explain to Kushketu that despite being a criminal, your son has saved a sage by donating an umbrella in the month of Vaishakh.Hence he has become beyond all limits. Due to the influence of this virtue, he who controls the mind and senses, has qualities like longevity, bravery and generosity etc. and has become as virtuous as you. Therefore, appoint your mighty son to take charge of the kingdom. Lord Vishnu has given you similar orders. In this way, give orders to the king and return Hemkant under his control.”After receiving this order from Lord Vishnu, the mighty Vishvak Sen came to Hemkant, stopped the Yamdoots and touched all his body parts with his auspicious hands. By the touch of the devotee of God, all the diseases of Hemkant were cured in a moment. Thereafter Vishvak Sen went with him to the king’s palace.Seeing him, Maharaj Kushketu was surprised and bowed his head with devotion and prostrated himself on the earth and allowed God’s advisor to enter his house. There they praised him with various hymns and worshiped him with splendor.After that, Mahabali Vishvak Sen became very happy and told the king all the message given by Lord Vishnu regarding Hemkant. Hearing this, Kushketu placed his son on the throne and taking the permission of Vishvak Sen himself, left for the forest along with his wife.Thereafter, Mahamana Vishvak Sen, after asking Hemkant and praising him, went near Lord Vishnu in Shwetdweep. Since then, King Hemkant started following the auspicious rituals every year which increase the happiness of God as told in the month of Vaishakh.He became a Brahmin devotee, religious, peaceful, intelligent, kind to all living beings and by remaining engaged in the initiation of complete yagyas, he became endowed with all kinds of wealth. By enjoying all the pleasures along with his sons and grandsons, he attained the world of Lord Vishnu. The month of Vaishakh is full of happiness and provides immense virtue. He is the one who burns the fuel of sin like fire, is the most accessible and the one who grants all four efforts – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.

Important dates of Vaishakh month

24th April: Vaishakh Krishna Paksha begins, Shri Mahavir Ji Rath Yatra Jain.

27 April : Sankash Chaturthi.

28th April: Sati Anusuiya birth anniversary.

29th April: Guru Teg Bahadur birth anniversary, August star sets.

30th April: Guru Arjundev Jayanti (ancient belief), Saptami Tithi decay.

01 May: Kalashtami, Shitala Puja (Old Basyoda), Guru in Taurus from 12:55.

2nd May: Chandika Navami.

4th May : Varuthini Ekadashi fast (everyone), Shri Vallabhacharya Jayanti

5th May : Pradosh Vrat, 724th Shri Sen Jayanti.

6 May: Monthly Shivratri.

7 May: Vaishakh Amavasya for ancestral work, Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti.

8 May: Vaishakh Amavasya for Dev Karya, Shri Shukdev Jayanti

9 May: Moon darshan, Rishi Parashar’s birth anniversary (mutantar), Shri Shivaji Jayanti.

10th May: Akshaya Tritiya, Lord Parshuram Jayanti, Shri Mantagi Jayanti, Shri Badri-Kedarnath Yatra begins.

11 May: Vinayak Chaturthi.

12 May: 1236th Shri Shankaracharya Birth Anniversary, Shri Surdas Jayanti.

13 May: Chandan Chhath (Bengal), Shri Ramanujacharya Jayanti.

14 May: Ganga Saptami (Gangotpatti), Sankranti Sun in Taurus from 17:54 (Punyakaal day from 11:30)

15 May: Durgashtami, Budhashtami, Devi Baglamukhi Jayanti.

16 May: Shri Sita (Janaki) Navami.

18 May: Shri Mahavir Swami Kaivalya Gyan (Jain).

19 May: Mohini Ekadashi fast (everyone), Parshuram Dwadashi, Rukmani Dwadashi.

20th May: Som Pradosh fast.

21 May: Shri Narasimha Jayanti, Kamedav fast.

22 May: National Jyeshtha month begins, Devi Chhinnamastika birth anniversary, Guru Amardas birth anniversary (ancient opinion)

23 May: Shri Satyanarayan (Peepal Purnima Vrat), Shri Buddha and Kurma Avatar birth anniversary.