Ekadashi 2027 · Boston

Ekadashi: A Practical Guide to the Vrat

Ekadashi is the eleventh tithi of each lunar fortnight. Because a lunar month holds two fortnights, Ekadashi recurs roughly twice a month — usually twenty-four to twenty-six times in a year. It is observed in honour of Vishnu, and it is one of the most widely kept vrats in the Hindu year, followed in India and across the diaspora.

This page is for the reader who is planning to observe Ekadashi and wants the practical shape of the day: who keeps it, how the vidhi runs, what to eat, and how parana works. The dates for this year and the next two are computed from the panchang and listed on this page.

Significance

Ekadashi belongs to Vishnu. The tithi falls on the eleventh day of each paksha, and the observance is a fast — specifically, a fast from grains. It is a vrat of restraint rather than a ritual of display, and it is kept by householders as well as by those with a more formal daily practice.

Traditions differ on emphasis. Some communities treat Ekadashi as a day of strict abstinence from all food, others permit specific foods and only avoid grains and beans. Vaishnava and Smarta practice can differ on which Ekadashi is observed and how the tithi is reckoned, and the amanta and purnimanta systems number the lunar months differently. Where traditions differ, this page notes the difference rather than settling it — a family's own custom, or the guidance of a qualified jyotishi for a personal chart, is the right final word.

Vrat Vidhi Step by Step

The vidhi is simple in outline and best followed consistently rather than elaborately.

• Begin the fast on the Ekadashi tithi, from grains. Some begin at sunrise, others from the previous night; follow the practice in your household.
• Keep the day with Vishnu in mind — japa, stotra or dhyana as suits your practice, and a reading or hearing of the Ekadashi katha.
• Break the fast (parana) the next morning, after sunrise, within the Dwadashi tithi.

That is the core: fast from grains, remember Vishnu, and parana the next morning after sunrise within Dwadashi. Anything beyond this — additional puja, charity, vigil — is added according to family custom and capacity, not as a requirement of the vrat itself.

What to Eat and Avoid

The defining rule is simple: fast from grains. What surrounds that rule varies.

• Avoid: grains, and in most traditions beans and pulses as well, since they fall under the same category for vrat purposes.
• Permitted in many households: fruits, milk and milk preparations, nuts, and certain flours and starches treated as vrat-friendly — sabudana, singhara, rajgira and similar.
• Strict observance: some keep a full fast with only water, or with no food at all, for the day.

Salt, onion, garlic and regular masalas are avoided in many homes, though this too is custom rather than a single universal rule. If you are new to the vrat, the honest approach is to start with the grain fast and the parana, and let the finer food rules follow your family's practice. If you have any health condition, or you are pregnant, nursing or on medication, speak to a qualified doctor before undertaking a fast — this page makes no medical claim and gives no medical advice.

Parana Rules

Parana is the breaking of the fast, and the rule given here is the one to hold on to: parana the next morning, after sunrise, within the Dwadashi tithi. The fast is not broken on the Ekadashi night itself in the standard observance; it is broken the following morning.

Because the Dwadashi window is a tithi window and not a fixed clock time, its start and end shift from month to month. That is why the parana time is read from the panchang for the specific date rather than assumed. Where a tradition prescribes a slightly different parana discipline — for instance, a Vaishnava house following a particular acharya's reckoning — that local rule applies. When in doubt about the exact window for a given Ekadashi, check the panchang entry for that date, or consult a qualified jyotishi for guidance tied to your own practice.

Katha in Brief

The Ekadashi katha is told in honour of Vishnu, and it is traditionally read or heard on the day as part of the vrat. Different Ekadashis through the year carry their own names and their own narrated stories, so the katha you hear depends on which Ekadashi it is. The common thread across them is the same: the vrat belongs to Vishnu, it is kept by fasting from grains, and it is closed by parana the next morning after sunrise within Dwadashi.

If you are planning to observe, the practical summary is this — note the Ekadashi date from the panchang, fast from grains, keep the day with Vishnu in mind and the katha, and break the fast the next morning after sunrise within Dwadashi. Dates for this year and the next two are listed on this page.