Ekadashi

About

Ekadashi (= the eleventh) is the eleventh tithi of both the waxing (Shukla) and waning (Krishna) fortnights. That gives about 24 Ekadashis in a normal year, and 26 in a year that has an Adhika month. Each has its own name and its own story.

Ekadashi is mainly a day for Vishnu, and for many families it is the most regularly kept fast of the year. Vaishnava traditions treat it as a core duty, and many other families keep it as a day of restraint.

Significance and stories

The Puranas describe Ekadashi as a day to turn the mind inward and away from appetite. A well-known story tells of Ekadashi arising as a divine power from Vishnu, which is why the first Krishna paksha Ekadashi of the Margashirsha month is called Utpanna (= born).

Each Ekadashi has a katha (= story) that explains its name. It is usually told after the puja and is a good way to include children. Follow your family's or temple's version.

How to observe (puja vidhi)

1. Keep the day before (Dashami) light. Eat once, avoid grains and heavy food in the evening, and keep the mind calm.
2. On Ekadashi morning, bathe early and make a sankalpa (= a quiet resolve) to keep the fast.
3. Set up a picture or murti of Vishnu (or Krishna, or Lakshmi Narayana). Light a lamp and offer flowers and tulsi leaves.
4. Chant Vishnu's names, or recite the Vishnu Sahasranama or a simple mantra such as ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय (Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya). Ask a priest or elder to guide pronunciation.
5. Read or hear the Ekadashi katha. Spend free time in japa, reading the Gita or visiting a temple. Some families keep a night vigil with bhajans, which is optional.
6. On Dwadashi morning, offer prayers, feed a guest or give a small donation if you can, then break the fast at the right time (see below).

Puja items (samagri)

• A picture or murti of Vishnu or Krishna
• Tulsi leaves (never plucked on Ekadashi; collect them the day before)
• Flowers, incense, a ghee or oil lamp
• Fruit, milk, and sweets made without grain for the offering
• Water, sandalwood paste, and a clean cloth for the seat

Fasting and food

Ekadashi fasts range from a complete fast without water (nirjala), to one with only water, to fruit and milk (phalahar), to a simple meal without grain. Choose the level you can keep with a clear mind.

Rice, wheat, lentils and other grains and pulses are avoided on Ekadashi. In many traditions beans and certain spices are avoided too. The usual explanation is that the day is meant for lightness and simplicity. Traditions vary, so follow your family's custom.

Fruit, nuts, milk, curd, potato, sweet potato, sabudana, kuttu and singhara flour, and rock salt are commonly eaten in the phalahar fast.

Parana (= breaking the fast) is done on Dwadashi, after sunrise and within the parana window given for your city. Do not break the fast during Hari Vasara, the first quarter of Dwadashi tithi. If Dwadashi ends very early, break it before the tithi ends. Breaking it at the right time matters more than the exact food.

People with health conditions, pregnant or nursing women, children and the elderly should follow their doctor's advice and may keep a lighter fast. Milk, fruit or a simple meal is perfectly acceptable.

The Dashami rule and the two observance days

Ekadashi is counted by the tithi that is present at sunrise. If Ekadashi begins late in the night of Dashami, that Dashami is "mixed" with it. In plain words: the day should be a pure Ekadashi, not one that is partly Dashami at sunrise.

Sometimes Ekadashi covers two sunrises. Then:

• Smarta families (and many householders) usually keep the first day.
• Vaishnava traditions (Gaudiya, Sri Vaishnava and others) usually keep the day on which Ekadashi is pure and Dwadashi follows, which is often the second day.

The site shows both days when they differ. Choose according to your sampradaya (= tradition) or your priest's guidance.

The 24 Ekadashis

Names below follow the Purnimanta calendar (common in North India), where the Krishna paksha is named under the month that ends on the next Purnima. In the Amanta calendar (Maharashtra, Gujarat, South India) the same Krishna paksha belongs to the preceding month name (for example, Papmochini falls in Phalguna Krishna), but the Ekadashi names stay the same.

In an Adhika year, two more Ekadashis come in the extra month: Padmini (Kamala) in the Shukla paksha and Parama in the Krishna paksha.

Regional customs

In Odisha and Bengal many families keep Ekadashi strictly. Maharashtra's Pandharpur pilgrimage centres on Ashadhi (Devshayani) and Kartiki (Prabodhini) Ekadashi. In South India, Vaikuntha Ekadashi in the Margashirsha or Pausha month is a major temple day. Traditions vary; follow your family's custom or your priest's guidance.

Celebrating in the USA

Many Ekadashis fall on working days. A light phalahar breakfast and lunch, a short evening puja and the katha are enough. Keep sabudana, singhara or kuttu flour and rock salt from an Indian grocery store. Check the city-specific parana time on the site, especially if you live far from India, because the tithi timings and the Hari Vasara window change with your location.