King Kuber was a staunch Shiva devotee, and would worship the lord daily by offering flowers to the lord. There was a gardener named Hem Mali, who was a Yaksha. He would get Kuber flowers on a regular basis from the Mansarovar. However, once he did get the flowers but forgot to give it to Kuber as he was busy spending time with his beautiful wife. As a result, the king sent his servant to find out the real reason behind Hem’s negligence.
After he got to know about it, Kubera got extremely angry and cursed Hem to suffer from the deadly disease of leprosy and ordered him to stay separated from his wife. Hem was out of the palace and suffered immensely due to the disease. After wandering for many years in the forest, Hem came across the ashram of Rishi Markandeya, who after listening to his story advised him to observe Yogini Ekadashi Vrat.
Hem Mali kept the fast with full devotion and prayed to lord Vishnu of forgiveness. As a result, Lord accepted his prayers and Hem was cured of all his sins. He was free from any disease and reunited with his beloved wife once again.
Similarly, all the devotees observing this fast and praying to lord Vishnu with pure thoughts and feelings shall be freed from all their difficulties and health related issues on Yogini Ekadashi.
