Yudhiṣṭhira said:
1-3. O Kṛṣṇa, you have said well. O lord, you are the first god. (There are four kinds of living beings:) generated by sweat; oviparous; plants; viviparous. You make and mar them; you protect and destroy them. You told (me) about Ṣaṭtilā falling in Māgha. O god, favour (me) and tell me which Ekādaśī would fall in the bright half (of that month). What is the manner of it (i.e. the manner in which it is observed? Which deity is worshipped on that day?
Śrīkṛṣṇa said:
4-8a. O lord of kings, I shall tell you about (the Ekādaśī) that would fall in the bright half of Māgha. It is called Jayā. It is well known. It is great and removes all sins. It is pure. It destroys sins. It gives desired objects and salvation to men. It destroys (the sin of) the murder of a brāhmaṇa, and it (also) destroys the state of a goblin. Men are not reduced to the condition of ghosts when the vow of this (Ekādaśī) is observed by them. There is no (Ekādaśī) other than this that destroys sins and gives salvation. O king, for this reason it should always be observed. O best king, listen to an ancient auspicious tale. I have told about its greatness in the Padma Purāṇa.
8b-15a. Once Indra ruled in heaven. Gods happily lived in that charming (heaven). They were engaged in drinking nectar and were waited upon by celestial nymphs. In it there was a grove called Nandana. It was served by (i.e. full of) Pārijāta trees. Gods rejoice and are pleased by the celestial nymphs there. Once Indra, the lord of fifty crores (of the residents of heaven), rejoicing as he liked, joyfully made (the celestial nymphs) to dance. Gandharvas sang there. There was a gandharva (named) Puṣpadantaka. Citrasena was also there. So also there was Mālinī, the daughter of Citrasena. There was Citrasena’s wife also. Puṣpadantī was born of Mālinī. Puṣpadanta’s son was Mālyavat by name. Mālyavat was very much fascinated by the beauty of Puṣpadantī. She subjugated Mālyavat with her glances.
15b-22. Listen to (the description of) her charm with loveliness and her beauty. Her arms are as it were the nooses (thrown) round the neck by Cupid. Her eyes were long up to the ears, were reeling and red in the corners. Her ears looked beautiful due to the ear-rings. She had a conch-shaped neck, and was adorned with divine ornaments. Her stout and raised breasts resembled golden pitchers. Her waist was lean, excellent and could be grasped in the fist. Her buttocks were expansive. Her hips and loins were large. Her feet were beautiful and bright like red-lotus. By (that) Puṣpavatī who was like this, Mālyavat was very much fascinated. To please Indra, the two came there to dance. They sang there and were waited upon by bands of celestial nymphs. The two Puṣpadantī and Mālyavat, had their bodies filled with cupid (i.e. the feeling of love). Due to love for each other they were infatuated. With their mind perplexed they did not sing chaste songs.
23-31. Influenced by the arrows of Cupid they had rivetted their eyes upon each other. Indra knew that their minds were attached to each other. Due to the lapse in clapping of the hands and in the measuring (of time), so also due to the execution of the song, Indra, thinking that it was an insult to him, got angry with both of them and giving them a curse said these (words): “Fie upon you; you are fallen; you stupid ones have disobeyed me. Be turned into goblins as husband and wife; go to the mortal world, enjoying the fruit of your deed.” Thus cursed by Indra the two with their minds distressed, being deluded by Indra’s curse reached the Himālaya mountain. Both became goblins and met with terrible grief also. Their minds were tormented, and met with misery caused by snow. Being deluded, they were not aware of their state of a gandharva or a celestial nymph. They were oppressed by summer and the effect of bodily sins. Troubled by (the fruit of) their deeds they did not get pleasure or peace at night. Talking to each other they moved in the mountain-caves. They were chattering their teeth and had horripilation on their bodies.
32-40a. Then that male goblin said to his wife, the female goblin: “What great, fierce and thrilling sin have we committed due to which we have obtained (i.e. are reduced to) goblin-hood as a result of our bad deeds? Hell is looked upon as fierce, and goblin-hood as painful. Therefore, with all efforts, one should not commit a sin.” Thus being anxious, they were overpowered with grief. Due to their good luck, the Ekādaśī of Māgha, named Jayā and well-known as the best among days, came. When that day came, O king, they remained there without food and without drinking water. They did not kill any living being; they did not eat leaves and fruits. Near the Aśvattha tree, they remained always full of grief. O king, while they remained like that the sun set. Night, that was fierce, terrible and fatal, approached. The two, trembling and clinging to each other with their bodies and arms, then slept there on the (bare) ground. They did not have sleep, or coition, nor did they get pleasure.
40b-46. O best king, they were thus troubled by the curse of Indra. When they were thus unhappy the night rolled by. The sun rose when the day of Dvādaśī came (i.e. on the Dvādaśī day). O best king, I held in my heart (i.e. thought to myself) about their salvation. They observed the good vow of Jayā and kept awake at night. Listen to what happened by the efficacy of that vow. When the Dvādaśī day came, and when the Jayā-vow was observed like that, their goblin-hood disappeared by Viṣṇu’s prowess. Puṣpadantī and Mālyavat had their forms as before. They had the same affection as before, had put on the (same) ornaments as before. They got into an aeroplane and went to the beautiful heaven. Having gone in front of the lord of gods (Indra), they gladly saluted him. Seeing them like that, Indra, being amazed said to them:
Indra said:
47. Tell me, due to what moral merit you who were reduced to goblin-hood, who had received a curse from me, were freed and by which god.
Mālyavat said:
48-51. O lord, our goblin-hood has gone by Viṣṇu’s favour, the observance of the Jayā-vow, and the strength of devotion to you.
Hearing these (words) Indra also spoke again: “You have become sinless, pure, and have become adorable even to me. You have observed (the vow on) the day of (i.e. sacred to) Viṣṇu; you are greatly attached to the devotion for Viṣṇu. There is no doubt that those mortals who adhere to (the vow of) the day of (i.e. sacred to) Viṣṇu, and are devoted to Kṛṣṇa, are adorable to us also.”
Kṛṣṇa said:
52-54. For this reason, O king, the vow of the day of (i.e. sacred to) Viṣṇu should be observed. O best king, Jayā removes the sin of a brāhmaṇa’s murder. He who has observed the vow of Jayā, has given all gifts, has performed all sacrifices. He certainly rejoices in Vaikuṇṭha as long as a crore of kalpas. O king, by reciting or listening to (this account), one would obtain the fruit (of the performance) of Agniṣṭoma (sacrifice).