Krishna-ISKCON Namahatta in Turku

14/09/2026

14/09/2026

Appearance Day of Śrī Tungavidyā Devī, one of the astha-sakhis. On 14/09/2026. Dates for Sri Mayapur Dhama

Tungavidyā is the fifth of the váriṣṭha gopīs. Her complexion is like kuṅkuma, and her bodily fragrance is like sandalwood mixed with camphor. She is fifteen days younger than Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, hot-tempered and expert at dissimulation, and wears white garments. Her parents are Puṣkara and Medhā-devī, and her husband is Bāliśa. One of the leaders of the gopīs, Tungavidyā is learned in the eighteen branches of knowledge, rasa-śāstra, nīti-śāstra, dancing, drama, literature, and all other arts and sciences. She is a celebrated music teacher, expert at playing the vīṇā and singing in the mārga style. She has full faith in Kṛṣṇa and is especially expert at arranging the meetings of the divine couple. Eight gopī messengers headed by Mañjumedhā-devī assist in arranging sandhi between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, and Tungavidyā is their leader. These gopīs are expert dancers and musicians and are especially engaged in fetching water from the streams of Vṛndāvana. She appears in Gaura-līlā as the most revered Śrī Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and engages in glorifying Śrī Gaurāṅga.

07/09/2026

Ekadasi fasting on Monday!

FASTING FOR ANNADA EKADASI
07/09/2026, dates for Sri Mayapur Dhama

Sri Yudhisthira Maharaja said, “Oh JanArdana, protector of allliving entities, please tell me the name of the Ekadasi that occursduring the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada (August-September).”

The Supreme Lord, Shri Krishna, then replied, “Oh King, hear meattentively. The name of this sin-removing, sacred Ekadasi is Aja. Any personwho fasts completely on this day and worships Hrishikesha, the master of thesenses, becomes free of all reactions to his sins. Even one who simplyhears about this Ekadasi is freed from his past sins. Oh King, there is nobetter day than this in all the earthly and heavenly worlds. This is truewithout a doubt.

“There once lived a famous king named Harishchandra, who was theemperor of the world and a person of great truth and integrity. His wife’sname was Chandramati, and he had a son named LohitAshva. By the force ofdestiny, however, Harishchandra lost his great kingdom and sold his wife andson. The pious king himself became a menial servant of a dog-eater, who madehim guard a crematorium. Yet even while doing such menial service, hedid not forsake his truthfulness and good character, just as soma-rasa,even when mixed with some other liquid, does not lose its ability tobestow immortality.

“The king passed many years in this condition. Then one day hesadly thought, ‘What shall I do? Where shall I go? How can I be deliveredfrom this plight?’ In this way he drowned in an ocean of anxiety andsorrow.

“One day a great sage happened by, and when the king saw him hehappily thought, ‘Ah, Lord Brahma has created brahmins just to helpothers.’ Harishchandra paid his respectful obeisances to the sage, whosename was Gautama Muni. With joined palms the king stood before Gautama Muniand narrated his pitiful story. Gautama Muni was astonished to hear theking’s tale of woe. He thought, ‘How has this mighty king been reducedto collecting clothes from the dead?’ Gautama Muni became verymuch compassionate toward Harishchandra and instructed him on theprocess of fasting for purification.

“Gautama Muni said, ‘Oh king, during the dark fortnight of themonth of Bhadrapada there occurs an especially meritorious Ekadasi namedAjA (Annada),which removes all sins. Indeed, this Ekadasi is so auspicious that if you simply fast on that day and perform no other austerity,all your sins will be nullified. By your good fortune it is coming in justseven days. So I urge you to fast on this day and remain awake throughthe night. If you do so, all the reactions of your past sins will come to anend. Oh Harishchandra, I have come here because of your past pious deeds.Now, all good fortune to you in the future!’ So saying, the great sage SriGautama Muni immediately disappeared for their vision.

“King Harishchandra followed Gautama Muni’s instructions concerningfasting on the sacred day of AjA Ekadasi. Oh Maharaja Yudhisthira, becausethe king fasted on that day, the reactions to his previous sins werecompletely destroyed at once. Oh lion among kings, just see the influence ofthis Ekadasi fast! It immediately vanquishes whatever miseries one maybe suffering as a result of past karmik sinful activities.

Thus all Harishchandra’s miseries were relieved. Just by the powerof this wonderful Ekadasi, he was reunited with his wife and son, who haddied but were now revived. In the heavenly regions the devas (demigods)began beating on their celestial kettledrums and showering down flowers upon Harishchandra, his queen, and their son. By the blessings of the Ekadasi fast, he regained his kingdom without difficulty. Moreover, whenKing Harishchandra left the planet, his relatives and all his subjectstoo, went with him to the spiritual world.

“Oh Pandava, whoever fasts on Aja Ekadasi is surely freed from allhis sins and ascends to the spiritual world. And whosoever hears and studiesthe glories of this Ekadasi achieves the merit gained by performing ahorse sacrifice.”

28/08/2026

We wish everyone an auspicious celebration of Lord Balarama Jayanti. Fasting is until noon today. Hare Krishna!

Sri Balaram Jayanti 28/08/2026
Dates for Sri Dhama Mayapur

Today marks the auspicious appearance of Lord Balaram. We honor it with a half day fast and followed by a nice vegetarian feast.

Lord Balarama is Krishna’s elder brother and His appearance day takes place on the full moon day (purnima), two weeks before Krishna Janmashtami. Krishna and Balarama were the darlings of Vrindavan/ Vraja. Together They would spend the day enjoying the company of the cowherd boys in the forests of Vraja. Their wonderful pastimes are related in the tenth canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which Srila Prabhupada also translated as The Krishna Book. Lord Balarama is also considered the original spiritual master and His worship is therefore most important for Vaishnavas.

Balarāma means guru-tattva. Balarāma represents guru. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. If we want to understand Caitanya Mahāprabhu, if we want to understand Kṛṣṇa, then we must take shelter of Balarāma. Nāyam ātmā bala-hinena labhyaḥ. This bala-hinena labhyaḥ, this Vedic injunction, means “Without the mercy of Balarāma you cannot understand, you cannot realize your spiritual identification. So that Balarāma comes as Nityānanda Prabhu. Balarāma hailā nitāi. Therefore we must take shelter of Balarāma.

Lecture given by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lord Nityānanda Prabhu’s Āvirbhāva Appearance Day
Bhuvaneśvara, February 2, 1977

Prabhupāda: So today, the appearance day of Nityānanda Prabhu… Nityānanda Prabhu is Baladeva, Baladeva-tattva.

vrajendra-nandana yei, śacī-suta haila sei,
balarāma haila nitāi

“Who was formerly the son of Nanda Mahārāja, He has appeared as the son of Śacīdevi.” Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mother’s name was Śacīdevi. So Kṛṣṇa… Kṛṣṇa is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and Balarāma is Nityānanda Prabhu. Now…

vrajendra-nandana yei, śacī-suta haila sei,
balarāma haila nitāi

So Balarāma… In the Vedic literature it is said, nāyam ātmā bala-hinena labhyaḥ; na bahunā śrutena. So bala means strength. Sometimes some rascal philosophers, they take it that bala means bodily strength. They propagate this philosophy that “Unless you are bodily stout and strong, you cannot achieve spiritual salvation. You must be very strong and stout and eat meat and fight, and then you’ll get next spiritual birth” No. This bala, this strength, is different. This is spiritual strength.

The difficulty of the present situation is that actually we are moving on account of spiritual strength, but they have no information of the spiritual strength. They are thinking of material strength. That is expressed here, that

ahaṅkāre matta hoiyā, nitāi-pada pāsariyā,
asatyere satya kori māni

This is due to ahaṅkāra. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate [Bg. 3.27]. Those who are vimūḍha, especially rascal… Mūḍha, rascals, and vi means viśeṣa, viśeṣanam, particularly. Ahankara-vimudhātmā. The same thing which is spoken in the Bhagavad-gītā, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says the same thing in a plain Bengali language. Ahaṅkāre matta haiyā, nitāi-pada… By the spell of māyā-ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate [Bg. 3.27]— they are thinking that “We are independent. We can do whatever we like.” This is called ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. Under false pretext, false prestige, everyone is thinking that “We are independent. We can find out the solution of the problems of life by material adjustment,” so on, so on. So that is our material disease. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. Bewildered, they do not understand that the real strength is spiritual strength. We see daily, see daily that a very strong man, very powerful man, very good brain, very good scientist… So where is the strength? The strength is ātmā. As soon as the ātmā, or the soul, goes out of this body, so intelligent, so strong, and so many things, that is nothing. That is the difference between dead man and the living man. A living man is very powerful, very good position, everything. As soon as he lies down, he is lying down on the floor, and if you kick him on his face, he’ll not protest. So where is that strength? The strength is gone. That is spiritual strength. On the spiritual strength, the body moves. Suppose you have got a very good car, Mercedes car or Rolls Royce car. But when there is no petrol, how the car will move? It is not possible. There is spirit, petrol spirit. Similarly, real strength is spiritual strength. That spiritual strength is Balarāma. Bala means strength. Therefore we have to take shelter of the lotus feet of Balarāma, guru-tattva.

Balarāma means guru-tattva. Balarāma represents guru. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ **. If we want to understand Caitanya Mahāprabhu, if we want to understand Kṛṣṇa, then we must take shelter of Balarāma. Nāyam ātmā bala-hinena labhyaḥ. This bala-hinena labhyaḥ, this Vedic injunction, means “Without the mercy of Balarāma you cannot understand, you cannot realize your spiritual identification. So that Balarāma comes as Nityānanda Prabhu. Balarāma hailā nitāi. Therefore we must take shelter of Balarāma. That is… This song has been sung by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. Nitāi-pada-kamala, koṭi-candra-suśītala. If we take shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu, then we get peace. Koṭi-candra-suśītala. Just like in daytime, especially in the summer season, we become very much exasperated. But at night, in the evening, as soon as there is moonshine, we become very much satisfied. All day’s labor and fatigue is immediately moved. So nitāi-pada-kamala, the shade of Nityānanda Prabhu’s lotus feet, is koṭi-candra-suśītala, as pleasing as one crore of moonshine. One moonshine gives us so much pleasure. So if we want actually peace of mind, if we actually want to be free from this material fatiguement, then we must take the shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu is the strength, spiritual strength. And without spiritual strength you cannot approach Kṛṣṇa. Nāyam ātmā pravaca… Simply by talking nonsense… Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyaḥ. If you are a good speaker, that does not mean you’ll understand, yourself. Na medhayā: “Neither by good brain.” Because you have got very good brain you’ll understand Kṛṣṇa—no. Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena. If you think that you are a very good scholar, university degree-holder, then you’ll understand—no. This is not possible.

So we must have spiritual strength. That source of spiritual strength is Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa’s next manifestation, prakāśa-vigraha. Kṛṣṇa is manifesting Himself through Balarāma. So we have to take shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu.

nitāi-pada-kamala, koṭi-candra-suśītala,
je chāyāy jagata jurāy

The whole world is suffering, but if you want peace, then you take the shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu.

heno nitāi bine bhāi, rādhā-kṛṣṇa pāite nāi
dhṛdha kori’ dharo nitāir pāy

Our real aim of life—how to go back home back to Godhead and associate with Rādhā Kṛṣṇa. In another song the same author says,

manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā,
jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu

Unless you come to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, you cannot get real pleasure. If you want to dance and get pleasure, don’t dance independently. Dance with Kṛṣṇa. Then you’ll be happy. The dancing is there, but dancing without association of Kṛṣṇa… Just like here, in our temple, we are also eating, but we are eating the remnants of foodstuff left by Kṛṣṇa. That is real pleasure. It is not that we are stopping eating. We are not stopping eating. We are not dry philosophers. Kṛṣṇa baro doyāmoy, koribāre jihwā jay, swa-prasād-anna dilo bhāi. All over the world we are eating Kṛṣṇa prasādam, and we have got good experience. At least ten thousand men and women, they are taking Kṛṣṇa prasādam, but we have no anxiety. We have no anxiety. A family consists of a few members. They are full of anxiety how to maintain the family. And we are maintaining a family of ten thousand men. We have no anxiety. Just see practically. We have no anxiety. We require thousands and thousands of rupees for maintaining Europe, America, a costly affair. But because we are under the shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu, Balarāma, we have no anxiety. That means material life means anxiety. You cannot avoid anxiety if you lead a material life. Then you will be anxious.

That is Prahlāda Mahārāja’s instruction. He was asked by his father, “My dear son, what you have learned, the best thing from your teachers?” So he replied, “My dear father…” He never said, “My dear father”; He said, “My dear best of the asuras.” Asura-varya. Tat sādhu manye ‘sura-varya dehinām. Tat sādhu manye ‘sura-varya dehināṁ sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt [SB 7.5.5]. The whole human society is suffering, at least suffering from one disease—anxiety. Ask anybody. Take one small ant and take the big elephant; take the President of United States or take one street beggar. Ask him, “Whether you are free from anxiety?” Nobody will say, “No.” “I am full of anxiety.” That’s a fact. So why they are anxiety, in, full of anxiety? That Prahlāda Mahārāja had replied, sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt. Because we have taken asad-vastu, that will not exist… Everything, whatever you have got… Our, this body will not exist. And this is the main platform of our existence. In the material world, so long the body is there, you exist. So Prahlāda Mahārāja said that “Real solution of problems of life is to get out of this material condition. That is best thing in my opinion.” Sada samadvigna-dhiyām asad… That is Vedic injunction also. Asato mā sad gamaya: “Don’t live in this asat, in this material condition.” Sad gamaya: “Go to real existence.” That real existence means spiritual life. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg. 2.20]. So if we actually want life, blissful life, then we must get out of this material existence. That is Prahlāda Mahārāja’s instruction. Samudvigna-dhiyām. And if you remain in the material existence, you must suffer some anxiety. There is no excuse.

So Prahlāda Mahārāja advises that hitvātma-ghātam gṛham andha-kūpaṁ vanam gato yad dharim āśrayeta [SB 7.5.5]. If you… Real problem is anxiety. And this anxiety will continue so long you are material existent. Therefore the real life is to get out of this material… Hitvātma-ghātam. Ātma-ghāṭam. Ātma-ghātam means killing the soul. This material civilization is killing the soul. That… They have no information of the soul. They do not know how to become peaceful, how to become blissful. They are trying to be peaceful, bahir-artha-māninaḥ, by external material energy. They are thinking by constructing big, big buildings, just like in Bhuvaneśvara they are doing, and having good, very big, big roads and motorcars, that is advancement of civilization. No. That is not advancement of civili… That is increasing their anxiety. There is no solution of the anxiety. There is… Formerly that… I was speaking. There was no university. The university was in the cottage-Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva was writing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and all the Purāṇas in a cottage. The university was there. Who can produce such literature as Vyāsadeva has given? From any angle of vision, from literary point of view, from philosophical point of view—everything, so perfect, every literature, Mahābhārata, Purāṇas, and Vedānta. Veda-vyāsa, he has given. So there was no need of university. It required clear brain. That was to be done by the brahminical qualifications, śamo damo titikṣā ārjava, jñānaṁ-vijñānam āstikyam brahma-karma svabhāva… Where is that education? This education, technical education, how you can very nicely hammer, this will not solve the problem. So if we want real solution of the problems, then our duty is first of all to take the shelter of nitāi-pada-kamala. Then we’ll be happy, and we’ll get moonshine, and our all fatigueness will be subsided.

Sambandha nāhi jār, bṛthā janma gelo tār. So if you have no connection with Nityānanda Prabhu… Nityānanda means always. Nitya means always, ānanda means pleasure. This is another meaning you can draw. So therefore, if you have no connection with Nityānanda Prabhu… Se tār: “He’s simply wasting time.” Bṛthā means useless. Uselessly, he’s wasting time. Se paśu boro durācār. And Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has used very strong word. “Anyone who has no connection with Nityānanda Prabhu, he’s a paśu.” Sei paśu. He’s a paśu, means animal. So animal, how one animal can get happiness? That is not possible. The dog, from the childhood he’s searching after food, searching after food. And cannot get food. Unless a dog has got a master, he’s street dog and he’s always unhappy. So better to become a dog of Nityānanda Prabhu. Then we shall be happy. Instead of becoming dog of so many other people… Everyone is dog. Everyone is searching after to serve a master. But none of them are satisfied because that is false master. You take real master, Nityānanda Prabhu. You’ll be happy. Se paśu boro durācār. He does not know where is happiness. Where I shall become a dog? That…
Our Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he has sung therefore,

vaisnava ṭhākur, tomāra kukkur,
boliya janaha more

“My dear Vaiṣṇava Ṭhākura, kindly accept me as your dog, as your dog. I am dog already, but I am māyā’s dog. I’m not Vaiṣṇava’s dog. So kindly accept me.” If you become a Vaiṣṇava’s dog… Chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava sevā, nistār pāiche kebā. If you do not become a dog of Vaiṣṇava and Nityānanda Prabhu… Nityānanda is guru. So if you do not become a dog of Nityānanda Prabhu, Vaiṣṇava, or guru, there is no question of happiness. Se sambandha nāhi yār, bṛthā janma gelo… se paśu boro durācār. Nitāi nā bolilo mukhe, majilā saṁsāra-sukhe. He who has no connection with Nityānanda Prabhu, and he does not say, “Jaya Nitāi! Jaya Gaura!” And majilo saṁsāra-sukhe, he thinks that this society, family, and… “Society, friendship and love, divinely bestowed upon man.” These materialist persons, they say like that. That is called majilo saṁsāra sukhe. In saṁsāra there cannot be any sukha, but he’s attracted by that. Majilo saṁsāra sukhe. Vidyā-kule ki koribe tār. What we’ll do with university education or born in big family or… This will not help. This is not possible. Vidyā-kule ki karibe tār. Why they’re accepting this false? Ahaṅkāre matta hoiyā, nitāi-pada pasariya, asatyere satya kori māni. On account of being misled by false prestige and false egotism, asatyere satya kori māni, we are accepting this body which is asat, which will not exist. That we have taken as reality. Ahaṅkare matta hoiya, nitāi pada pasariya. But if we take shelter of Nityānanda Prabhu, then you get the enlightenment. Asatyere satya kori māni. Nitāiyer koruṇā habe, braje rādhā-kṛṣṇa pabe, dharo nitāi-caraṇa du’khāni.

Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura advises that… Today is Nityānanda Prabhu’s āvirbhāva appearance day. Let us at least remember today nitāi-pada-kamala. That is wanted. Nitāi caraṇa satya, tāhāra sevaka nitya. The reality is nitāi-caraṇa, and anyone who is servant of Nitāi… So nitāiyer caraṇa satya, tāhāra sevaka nitya. One who has become the dog of Nityānanda Prabhu, he gets his eternal life. We are eternal, but under misconception of material identification, we are under the subjugation of māyā. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate [Bg. 8.19]. Tathā dehāntara… [Bg. 2.13] It is very botheration, but they do not know. I am going from one body to another transmigration. And that is not guaranteed, what kind of body. They have no science, no knowledge about understanding tathā dehāntara, the very first instruction of Bhagavad-gītā. They are so rascals, and they are proud of their education, their universities. This is going on.

Nitāi caraṇa satya, tāhāra sevaka…, nitāi-pada sadā koro āśā. Therefore we should always expect to be under the shelter of nitāi-pada-kamala. Narottama boro duḥkhī. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, he’s ācārya. He is presenting himself… That is ācārya. Means he is not duḥkhī, but he’s presenting himself as duḥkhī. That is ācārya. Ācāryas, they are never duḥkhī. But taking the common man’s position, he says, narottama boro duḥkhī. Or, in other words, Narottama… Narottama means the best of the human being. So here in this material world one may be the best of the human being, very exalted position, but everyone is duḥkī, unhappy. Narottama boro duḥkī, nitāi more koro sukhī: “Only Nityānanda can make me happy. Otherwise not possible.” Rakho raṅga-caraṇera pāśa. So today is Nityānanda Prabhu’s appearance day. We shall always pray Nityānanda Prabhu, “Kindly keep me under your shelter so that… I am very duḥkī; I am very unhappy. Under the shelter of Your lotus feet I shall be happy.” And that is real happiness. Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda! (end) (this lecture followed by Bengali speech of Nityānanda Kanurgo, former chief minister of Gujarat)

22/08/2026

On Sunday 23/08/2026 it is Ekadasi for those who live in Stockholm and Helsinki, but on Monday it is Ekadasi fasting for those living in Malmö and Copenhagen.

Fasting for Pavitropana Ekadasi on 24/08/2026, dates for Mayapur

Shri Yudhisthira Maharaja said, "Oh Madhusudana, Oh killer of the Madhu demon, please be merciful to me and describe to me the Ekadasi that occurs during the light fortnight of the month of Shravana (July-August)."
The Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, replied, "Yes, Oh king, I shall happily narrate its glories to you, for just by hearing about this sacred Ekadasi one attains the merit of performing a horse sacrifice.
"At the dawn of Dvarpara-yuga there lived a king by the name of Mahijita, who ruled the kingdom of Mahismati-puri.
Because he had no son, his entire kingdom seemed utterly cheerless to him.
A married man who has no son gains no happiness in this life or the next.
The Sanskrit word for 'son' is putra.
Pu is the name of a particular hell, and tra means 'to deliver.'
Thus the word putra means 'a person who delivers one from the hell named Pu.'
Therefore every married man should produce at least one son and train him properly; then the father will be delivered from a hellish condition of life.
But this injunction does not apply to the serious devotees of Lord Vishnu or Krishna, for the Lord becomes their son, father, and mother.

Furthermore, Chanakya Pandita says,

satyam mata pita jnanam
dharmo bhrata daya sakha
santih patni ksama putrah
sadete mama vandhavah

"Truth is my mother, knowledge is my father, my occupational duty is my brother, kindness is my friend, tranquility is my wife, and forgiveness is my son.
These six are my family members."
Among the twenty-six leading qualities of a devotee of the Lord, forgiveness is the topmost.
Therefore devotees should make an extra endeavor to develop this quality.
Here Chanakya says "forgiveness is my son," and thus a devotee of the Lord, even though he may be on the path of renunciation, may observe this Ekadasi and pray to attain this kind of "son."
For a long time this king tried very hard to obtain an heir, but to no avail.
Seeing his years advancing ever onwards, King Mahijita became increasingly anxious.

One day he told an assembly of his advisers: 'I have committed no sin in this life, and there is no ill-gotten wealth in my treasury.
I have never usurped the offerings to the demigods or brahmanas.
When I waged war and conquered kingdoms, I followed the rules and regulations of the military art, and I have protected my subjects as if they were my own children.
I punished even my own relatives if they broke the law, and if my enemy was gentle and religious I welcomed him.
Oh twice-born souls, although I am a religious and faithful follower of the Vedic standards, still my home is without a son.
Kindly tell me the reason for this.'
"Hearing this, the king's brahmana advisers discussed the subject among themselves, and with the aim of benefiting the king they visited the various ashrams of the great sages.
At last they came upon a sage who was austere, pure, and self-satisfied, and who was strictly observing a vow of fasting.
His senses were completely under control, he had conquered his anger, and he was expert at performing his occupational duty.
Indeed, this great sage was expert in all the conclusions of the Vedas, and he had extended his life span to that of Lord Brahma himself.
His name was Lomasa Rishi, and he knew part, present, and future.
After each kalpa passed, one hair would fall out of his body (One kalpa, or twelve hours of Lord Brahma, equals 4,320,000,000 years).
All the king's brahmana advisers very happily approached him one by one to offer their humble respects.

"Captivated by this great soul, King Mahijita's advisers offered obeisances to him and said very respectfully, 'Only because of our great good fortune, Oh sage, have we been allowed to see you.'
"Lomasa Rishi saw them bowing down to him and replied, 'Kindly let me know why you have come here. Why are you praising me?
I must do all I can to solve your problems, for sages like me have only one interest: to help others. Do not doubt this.'

Lomasa Rishi had all good qualities because he was a devotee of the Lord.
As stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (5:18:12),

yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akinchana
sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah
harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna
manorathenasati dhavato bahih

"In one who has unflinching devotional service to Krishna, all the good qualities of Krishna and the demigods are consistently manifest.
However, he who has no devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no good qualifications because he is engaged by mental concoction in material existence, which is the external feature of the Lord."

"The king's representatives said, 'We have come to you, Oh exalted sage, to ask for your help in solving a very serious problem.
Oh sage, you are like Lord Brahma.
Indeed, there is no better sage in the entire world.
Our king, Mahijita, is without a son, though he has sustained and protected us as if we were his sons.
Seeing him so unhappy on account of being sonless, we have become very sad, Oh sage, and therefore we have entered the forest to perform severe austerities.
By our good fortune we happened upon you.
Everyone's desires and activities become successful just by your darshan.
Thus we humbly ask that you tell us how our kind king can obtain a son.'

"Hearing their sincere plea, Lomasa Rishi absorbed himself in deep meditation for a moment and at once understood the king's previous life.
Then he said, 'Your ruler was a merchant in his past life, and feeling his wealth insufficient, he committed sinful deeds.
He traveled to many villages to trade his goods.
Once, at noon on the day after the Ekadasi that comes during the light fortnight of the month of Jyeshtha (Trivikrama - May-June), he became thirsty while traveling from place to place.
He came upon a beautiful pond on the outskirts of a village, but just as he was about to drink at the pond a cow arrived there with her new-born calf.
These two creatures were also very thirsty because of the heat, but when the cow and calf started to drink, the merchant rudely shoved them aside and selfishly slaked his own thirst.
This offense against a cow and her calf has resulted in your king's being without a son now.
But the good deeds he performed in his previous life have given him rulership over an undisturbed kingdom.'

"Hearing this, the king's advisers replied, 'Oh renowned rishi, we have heard that the Vedas say one can nullify the effects of one's past sins by acquiring merit.
Be so kind as to give us some instruction by which our king's sins can be destroyed; please give him your mercy so that a prince will take birth in his family.'

"Lomasa Rishi said, 'There is an Ekadasi called Putrada, which comes during the light fortnight of the month of Shravana.
On this day all of you, including your king, should fast and stay awake all night, strictly following the rules and regulations.
Then you should give the king whatever merit you gain by this fast.
If you follow these instructions of mine, he will surely be blessed with a fine son.'

"All the king's advisers became very pleased to hear these words from Lomasa Rishi, and they all offered him their grateful obeisances.
Then, their eyes bright with happiness, they returned home.

"When the month of Shravana arrived, the king's advisers remembered the advice of Lomasa Rishi, and under their direction all the citizens of Mahismati-puri, as well as the king, fasted on Ekadasi.
And on the next day, Dvadasi, the citizens dutifully offered their accrued merit to him.
By the strength of all this merit, the queen became pregnant and eventually gave birth to a most beautiful son.

"O Yudhisthira," Lord Krishna concluded, "the Ekadasi that comes during the light fortnight of the month of Shravana has thus rightfully become famous as Putrada ["bestower of a son"].
Whoever desires happiness in this world and the next should certainly fast from all grains and legumes on this holy day.
Indeed, whoever simply hears the glories of Putrada Ekadasi becomes completely free of all sins, is blessed with a good son, and surely ascends to heaven after death."

Thus ends the narration of the glories of Shravana-sukla Ekadasi, or Putrada Ekadasi, from the Bhavishya Purana.