The Ekadashi vrat is a fast on the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight, kept for Vishnu with a simple puja, tulsi leaves, his names and, for many, a quiet evening of bhajan, and broken on the next day, Dwadashi, at the right time. In short: eat a light meal on Dashami evening, take a sankalp on Ekadashi morning, fast in the way that suits you, worship Vishnu with tulsi, and do parana on Dwadashi within the window for your city.
The coming Ekadashis, the Smarta and Vaishnava days and the parana window for each are on the Ekadashi vrat dates page. Times are not repeated here, because they change with the city and the fortnight.
Samagri: what to keep ready
- A picture or small idol of Vishnu, Krishna, Rama or Laddu Gopal, or a shaligram if the family has one
- A clean cloth for the place of worship, yellow if you have it
- Tulsi leaves, picked the day before (many families do not pick tulsi on Ekadashi itself)
- Water in a lota, and Ganga jal if you keep it
- Yellow flowers, sandalwood paste, a little turmeric and akshat
- Ghee lamp, incense, camphor for aarti
- Bhog from the fast: fruit, milk sweets, makhana kheer, panjiri of kuttu or singhara, dry fruit
- A tulsi mala for japa, if you use one
- A copy of the Vishnu Sahasranama, the Bhagavad Gita, or the day's katha
The steps
- Dashami evening. The fast begins the evening before. Eat one simple, sattvic meal before sunset, without onion or garlic in many homes, and go to bed early. Some families avoid rice even on Dashami.
- Ekadashi morning. Wake early, bathe, and sit before the picture or idol. Take a little water in the right hand and say in your own words which Ekadashi it is, that you are keeping the fast for Vishnu, and what kind of fast you will keep. Let the water fall.
- The puja. Light the lamp. Offer water, sandalwood, yellow flowers and akshat. Offer tulsi leaves, one at a time or a small bunch, with the name of Vishnu. Offer fruit or a fast sweet as bhog, placing a tulsi leaf on it.
- Names and reading. Recite or listen to the Vishnu Sahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu, or chant a simple name such as Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya or Hare Krishna on a mala. Many people read a chapter of the Gita.
- The katha. Read or hear the story of the day's Ekadashi. The Ekadashi katha of Utpanna is the origin of them all, and each named Ekadashi has its own.
- The day. Keep the fast and the day light: less talk, no quarrels, some reading, rest. Offer water to the tulsi plant and light a lamp near it in the evening.
- Evening aarti. Light the lamp again at dusk and sing the aarti Om Jai Jagdish Hare.
- Night jagran (optional). Some keep awake late into the night with kirtan and reading. It is a choice, not a requirement; many simply sleep early.
- Dwadashi parana. Next morning, bathe, offer a little food to Vishnu with a tulsi leaf, and break the fast within the parana window. In many homes the first thing eaten is the bhog of the puja, with a tulsi leaf; some families feed a Brahmin or someone in need first, as their custom.
Choosing your fast
There is no single right way. Choose the form before the day begins, so that you are not deciding while hungry.
- Nirjala: no food and no water from sunrise to parana. Traditional on Nirjala Ekadashi; demanding in the heat.
- Jalahar or ksheerahar: water only, or water and milk.
- Phalahar: fruit, milk, curd, nuts, sabudana, potato, makhana, and kuttu, singhara or rajgira flour with rock salt.
- Ekbhukt: one simple fast meal in the day.
Pregnant women, nursing mothers, people with diabetes or other illness, children and older people take water, fruit and food as their health needs. A doctor's advice comes first, and the tradition has always allowed for it.
Checking the time
Two moments matter. The first is the day itself: Smarta and Vaishnava calendars sometimes keep Ekadashi a day apart, and the Ekadashi page shows both. The second is parana, the breaking of the fast on Dwadashi. It is done after sunrise on Dwadashi, but not during Hari Vasara, the first quarter of the Dwadashi tithi, which families leave untouched. It should also be done before Dwadashi ends; when Dwadashi is very short, parana moves earlier in the morning. The occurrence page for each Ekadashi gives the parana window for your city, and the panchang shows when each tithi begins and ends. For the morning puja, some families like to begin in a good choghadiya.
Customs families keep
These are customs, not conditions; your family's own way comes first.
- No rice or grains. Rice, wheat, pulses and other grains are avoided on Ekadashi by nearly every household, even by those who do not fast. One folk explanation says the sweat of Brahma fell to earth as a demon who took shelter in grain on this day; most people simply keep it as a custom of lightness.
- Tulsi leaves are picked a day earlier, and the plant is watered but not plucked on Ekadashi.
- Many avoid onion, garlic, and food cooked by others, and some do not cut hair or nails.
- Sleep in the day is avoided where possible.
- Some families keep salt light or use only rock salt.
Regional ways
- Maharashtra: the Varkari tradition keeps Ekadashi as the day of Vitthal; Ashadhi Ekadashi brings the great pilgrimage on foot to Pandharpur.
- Gujarat and Rajasthan: Pushtimarg temples dress the deity specially on Ekadashi, and families follow the temple's day.
- Uttar Pradesh and Bihar: Ekadashi is often kept by older women of the house, with the katha read from a small book and a fruit fast.
- South India: Vaikuntha Ekadashi, when the northern gate of Vishnu temples is opened, draws the largest crowds of the year.
- ISKCON temples keep Ekadashi with extended kirtan and grain-free prasadam, on the Vaishnava day.
After the puja
Share the bhog and fruit. Of the named Ekadashis, Dev Uthani Ekadashi, when Vishnu wakes from his four months' rest, is among the most widely kept, and many families who keep Ekadashi also read the Satyanarayan katha on Purnima.