Annada Ekadashi (also celebrated as Aja Ekadashi) is observed during the Krishna Paksha of the month of Hrishikesha (Bhadrapada). Worshipping Lord Hari on this day is famed for destroying deep mental grief, relieving poverty, and fully restoring lost status and broken relationships.
The legend tells of the famous King Harishchandra, who was renowned for his absolute truthfulness. To test his virtue, Sage Vishvamitra required him to donate his entire kingdom. Harishchandra gave away everything, sold his wife and son into servitude, and sold himself to work as a lowly caretaker at a cremation ground in Varanasi.
While living this miserable life, his young son Rohitashva died of a snakebite. When his wife brought the body for cremation, Harishchandra had to demand the tax, leaving both of them in absolute grief. Just then, Sage Gautama passed by and saw the king's unimaginable sorrow. Filled with pity, the sage advised the weeping king to observe the upcoming Annada Ekadashi.
King Harishchandra observed the fast with complete devotion and repentance. By the divine power of this single fast, his dead son Rohitashva was miraculously restored to life, his wife was reunited with him, and his entire kingdom was returned to him in full glory. Thus, Annada Ekadashi remains the supreme destroyer of worldly sorrows.
