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Library » Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta » Ādi-līlā » CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CC Ādi 15.10

Bengali

শচী কহে,—না খাইব, ভালই কহিলা ।
সেই হৈতে একাদশী করিতে লাগিলা ॥ ১০ ॥

Text

śacī kahe, — nā khāiba, bhāla-i kahilā
sei haite ekādaśī karite lāgilā

Synonyms

śacī kahe — mother Śacī said; nā khāiba — I shall not take; bhāla-i kahilā — You have said very nicely; sei haite — from that day; ekādaśī — Ekādaśī day; karite lāgilā — began to observe.

Translation

Mother Śacī said, “You have spoken very nicely. I shall not eat grains on Ekādaśī.” From that day, she began to observe fasting on Ekādaśī.

Purport

It is a prejudice among smārta-brāhmaṇas that a widow must observe fasting on Ekādaśī but a woman who is sa-dhava — who has her husband — should not. It appears that before Lord Caitanya’s request, Śacīmātā, being sa-dhava, was not observing Ekādaśī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, introduced the system that a woman, even if not a widow, must observe the Ekādaśī day and must not touch any kind of grains, even those offered to the Deity of Viṣṇu.