Festival · 2026
Dev Uthani Ekadashi 2026 — Friday, 20 November 2026
Dev Uthani Ekadashi, when Vishnu is believed to wake from his four-month sleep, ends Chaturmas and opens the season of weddings.
In 2026
Friday, 20 November 2026
- Tithi
- Shukla Ekadashi (Shukla): 20 Nov, 7:16 AM – 21 Nov, 6:31 AM
- Lunar month
- Kartika
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:47 AM / 5:25 PM
- Hari Vasara ends
- 21 Nov, 12:08 PM
| Parana (breaking the fast) | 21 Nov, 1:10 PM – 21 Nov, 3:17 PM |
|---|
- Gauna (alternate) Ekadashi: 21 November 2026
Rule: Smarta rule: the day with Ekadashi at sunrise, with Dwadashi left for the next morning’s parana. This time Ekadashi touches no sunrise (kshaya), so it is kept on the day it begins.
In 2027
Wednesday, 10 November 2027
- Tithi
- Shukla Ekadashi (Shukla): 9 Nov, 7:35 AM – 10 Nov, 9:11 AM
- Lunar month
- Kartika
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:39 AM / 5:30 PM
| Parana (breaking the fast) | 11 Nov, 6:40 AM – 11 Nov, 8:50 AM |
|---|
Rule: Smarta rule: the day with Ekadashi at sunrise, with Dwadashi left for the next morning’s parana.
Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar
What is Dev Uthani Ekadashi?
Dev Uthani Ekadashi, also called Prabodhini or Devotthan Ekadashi, falls on Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the waxing moon of Kartika. Tradition holds that Vishnu enters yoga nidra, a cosmic sleep, on Devshayani Ekadashi in Ashadha and wakes on this day. The four months in between are Chaturmas, a season of vows and restraint, and its close is marked with a fast, lamps and prayers to wake the Lord.
In many homes a small square is drawn on the floor with rice paste or chalk, sugarcane stalks are tied together as a canopy, and seasonal produce such as water chestnuts, sweet potato and sugarcane is placed before Vishnu. In the evening the family sings, rings bells and blows the conch, calling on him to rise. The Puranas praise the fast and the night vigil of this Ekadashi.
Because the gods are believed to be awake again, weddings and other ceremonies that many families pause during Chaturmas resume from about this time. The next days bring Tulsi Vivah, the ceremonial marriage of the tulsi plant to Vishnu in the form of Shaligram, and in Maharashtra the great Kartiki Ekadashi pilgrimage to Vithoba at Pandharpur.
How it is observed
- Devotees fast on Ekadashi, some without grain, some on fruit and milk, some without water.
- In the evening Vishnu is woken with songs, bells and the conch, under a canopy of sugarcane.
- Offerings include sugarcane, water chestnuts, sweet potato, jujube and other seasonal fruit.
- The fast is broken the next day (parana), after Hari Vasara, the first quarter of Dwadashi, has passed.
- Tulsi Vivah is performed in many homes on Dwadashi or in the days that follow.
- Pilgrims gather at Pandharpur for Kartiki Ekadashi, and Vishnu temples everywhere hold special darshan.
How the date is fixed
Dev Uthani Ekadashi is Kartika Shukla Ekadashi, and our engine follows the Smarta rule for ekadashi. The fast is kept on the day Ekadashi is present at sunrise. If Ekadashi touches no sunrise (a kshaya tithi), the day on which it begins is taken. If it is present at two sunrises, the second day is taken, unless Dwadashi would then end before the following sunrise and leave no Dwadashi for the parana; in that case the fast moves a day earlier. The other day is shown as the gauna, or alternate, ekadashi. Parana is on the next day, after Hari Vasara ends.
Where practice differs
Smarta and Vaishnava households sometimes keep ekadashi on different days, because the Vaishnava rule avoids an Ekadashi touched by Dashami before sunrise and may move the fast a day later; this is why the gauna date is shown too. In Maharashtra the day is Kartiki Ekadashi, centred on Pandharpur; in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar it is Dev Uthani or Devotthan Ekadashi; and in the south it is often called Utthana Ekadashi. The month is Kartika in both the amanta and purnimanta reckonings.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between Devshayani and Dev Uthani Ekadashi?
Devshayani Ekadashi in Ashadha is when Vishnu is believed to go to sleep, and Dev Uthani Ekadashi in Kartika is when he wakes. The four months between them are Chaturmas.
When is the Dev Uthani Ekadashi fast broken?
On the next day, in the parana window after Hari Vasara, the first quarter of Dwadashi, has passed. The parana time for this year is shown above.
Why do some calendars show two ekadashi dates?
When Ekadashi spans two sunrises or Dwadashi is short, the Smarta and Vaishnava rules can point to different days. The gauna, or alternate, day is shown alongside the main one.