Kartik Month Story Chapter 2, Kartik Month Story Chapter 2 in English
Lord Shri Krishna further said: Oh dear! When Gunavati got the news of her husband and father being killed by the demon, she started wailing, O Lord! Oh father! Where did you go after abandoning me? I am a single woman, what should I do without you? Now who will arrange for my food, clothes etc. Who will nurture me lovingly at home? I can't do anything, who will protect me as a widow, where should I go? Now I don't even have any place to go. Moaning like this, Gunavati felt dizzy and fell on the ground and became unconscious.
After a long time, when she regained consciousness, she drowned in the ocean of grief, wailing pitifully like before. After some time, when she regained her composure, she realized that after the death of her father and husband, she should perform their last rites. So that she could move ahead, she sold all the things in her house and with the money she received, she performed Shraddha etc. for her father and husband. After that, while living in the same city, she started worshiping Sri Vishnu all eight hours of the day. She observed fasts on all Ekadashis and fasts in the month of Kartik regularly till her death.
Hey darling! Ekadashi and Kartik fast are very dear to me. From these one attains liberation, happiness, son and property. In the month of Kartik, when the Sun comes in Libra, then people who get up in Brahmamuhurta and take bath and observe fast are very dear to me because even if they have committed sins, they attain salvation due to the effect of bath and fast.
The person who bathes, awakens, lights lamps and protects the Tulsi plant in Kartik is actually like Sri Vishnu. In the month of Kartik, people who sweep temples, make Swastikas and worship Sri Vishnu get freed from the cycle of birth and death.
Hearing this, Gunavati also started fasting on Kartik and worshiping Lord Vishnu with devotion every year. Hey darling! Once she got fever and became very weak, yet somehow she went to take a bath in the Ganges. She reached Ganga but she was shivering badly due to cold, due to which she became weak and then my (Lord Vishnu) messenger brought her to my abode.
After that, on the prayers of Brahma and other gods, when I took the incarnation of Krishna, my people also came to this earth with me, who are currently Yadavs. Your father was Devsharma in his previous birth and is currently Satrajit. Chandra Sharma, who was your husband in your previous birth, is a dacoit and O Goddess! You are the one with that quality. It is because of the influence of Kartik fast that you have become my better half.
In your previous life you had planted a Tulsi plant at the entrance of my temple. At present it is present in the courtyard of your palaces in the form of Kalpavriksha. Because of the lamp you had donated in that birth, your body is so beautiful and Goddess Lakshmi resides in your house. Since you had offered the fruits of all your fasts in your previous birth to Vishnu as your husband, due to that, you have become my beloved wife in this birth. Due to the regular fast of Kartik month that you observed in your previous birth, you and I will never be separated.
In this way, people who observe fast in the month of Kartik are as dear to me as you. Secondly, the results obtained from chanting, penance, yagya, donations etc. are much less than the results of fasting in the month of Kartik, that is, it is not even one-sixteenth of the fasts of the month of Kartik.
Thus, Satyabhama was very happy to hear the effect of the virtue of her previous birth from the mouth of Shri Krishna.
