Nirjala Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Jyeshtha, usually the day after Ganga Dussehra, kept by tradition without food or even water. Its katha is about Bhima, the Pandava whose hunger matched his strength, and the single fast the sage Vyasa gave him in place of all the others.
The date of Nirjala Ekadashi and the parana window, which matters a great deal after a waterless day, are on the Ekadashi vrat dates page for your city. The Ganga Dussehra page shows the festival that usually comes just before it. Here we tell the story.
The katha of Nirjala Ekadashi
Yudhishthira had heard the stories of many Ekadashis. Krishna told him that for the bright Ekadashi of Jyeshtha there was no better teller than Vyasa himself, the grandfather of the Pandavas, and that the story had happened in their own house.
Bhima's trouble
Vyasa had come to visit the Pandavas, and as they sat together the talk turned to the fasts. Yudhishthira, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva kept every Ekadashi, and so did their mother Kunti and Draupadi. Bhima listened, shifting uneasily, and at last he spoke.
"Grandfather," he said, "my brothers keep Ekadashi, my mother keeps it, Draupadi keeps it. Every fortnight they tell me, Bhima, you should not eat today. I understand the merit of it. I can worship, I can give gifts, I can sit through the whole puja. But I cannot go hungry. There is a fire in my belly, the one they call vrika, the wolf; that is why they call me Vrikodara. It is only quiet when I have eaten well. I cannot fast even once a day, let alone a whole day twice a month. Is there no way for someone like me?"
Vyasa looked at his grandson with affection. He knew Bhima was not lazy; he was made that way. "If you want the good that Ekadashi brings," he said, "then the fasts are the road. But if you cannot keep them all, keep one, and keep it fully."
The one Ekadashi
"In the month of Jyeshtha, when the sun is in Taurus or Gemini and the heat is at its height, comes the bright Ekadashi. Keep that day without food and without water, from sunrise until sunrise the next morning. Only for achaman, the sip taken to purify oneself before worship, may water touch your lips; nothing more.
"The next morning, on Dwadashi, bathe, worship Vishnu, give water, food and gifts to those who need them, and then eat with your family. Whoever keeps this one fast in this way receives the merit of all the Ekadashis of the year."
Bhima was quiet for a moment. A day without water in Jyeshtha was not a small thing, even for him. But it was one day, and he could face one day. "I will keep it," he said.
He kept it. The heat was fierce and the day was long, and the story says that by evening even mighty Bhima lay weak on the ground. But he did not break his word. On Dwadashi he bathed, worshipped, gave his gifts and broke his fast with his brothers. From then on the day was called Bhimseni Ekadashi, after him, and Pandava Ekadashi, after the family.
Reading the story calmly
In some tellings Vyasa speaks of Yama's messengers and of what awaits after death for those who never fast, and this is part of how he moves Bhima. Families today do not hear that as a threat. The heart of the story is Vyasa's kindness: he did not shame Bhima for being unable to fast, he found a way that fitted the man in front of him. That is the spirit to keep, including for anyone whose body cannot manage a waterless day.
What the day is kept for
The mahatmya says that Nirjala carries the merit of all twenty-four Ekadashis, and of bathing at every tirtha and giving every gift. These are the words of the text, and they explain why so many people who do not keep other Ekadashis keep this one. Yet the day is not only about going without. Because it falls in the hottest weeks of the year, its other half is giving: water to the thirsty, shade to those in the sun.
How it is kept, and when not to keep it dry
The traditional fast is from sunrise on Ekadashi to the parana on Dwadashi with no food and no water, apart from achaman. Please be careful with it. A day without water in peak summer heat is a real strain on the body. Children, older people, pregnant or nursing women, and anyone with diabetes, heart or kidney trouble, low blood pressure, or on regular medication should not attempt it dry; speak to a doctor first. The vrat books themselves say that the unwell, the young and the old may take water and fruit, and that a fast kept with fruit and water in devotion is still a full fast. Many people choose that.
On the day, families fill earthen pots with water, cover them with a cloth and a little sugar or fruit, and give them away; others give fans, umbrellas and footwear. In Delhi, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh, neighbourhoods set up roadside stalls serving cool sweetened water to anyone passing, which many see as the most fitting act of the day. The rest of the observance, including breaking the fast gently with water and a light meal, follows the Ekadashi puja vidhi.
The Ekadashis on either side
The Ekadashi before Nirjala is Apara Ekadashi, the story of King Mahidhwaja and the sage Dhaumya. The one after it, in the dark half of Ashadha, is Yogini Ekadashi, the story of Kubera's gardener. Check the panchang for when Ekadashi and Dwadashi begin where you live.