Ekadashi, the eleventh tithi of each lunar fortnight, is kept for Lord Vishnu. There are usually 24 Ekadashis in a year, each with its own name and story. Devotees believe the vrat purifies the mind and body and brings the Lord’s grace.
Kinds of Ekadashi fast
- Nirjala — no food or water (kept by the devoted, especially on Nirjala Ekadashi).
- Jalahar — only water.
- Phalahar — fruits, milk and permitted foods.
- Ekabhukta — one simple meal without grains.
Choose what suits your health. Children, elders, pregnant women and people on medication should keep a light phalahar fast or consult their doctor.
Foods allowed and avoided
- Avoid: rice and all grains, pulses and beans, onion, garlic, and non-vegetarian food.
- Allowed (in most traditions): fruits, milk, curd, nuts, sabudana, potato, sweet potato, rajgira and singhara flour, rock salt.
On the Ekadashi day
- Wake early, bathe and take the sankalpa for the vrat.
- Worship Lord Vishnu with tulasi leaves, flowers, a lamp and naivedyam.
- Read the Vishnu Sahasranama or the Ekadashi katha; chant “Om Namo Narayanaya”.
- Spend the day in prayer, reading and charity; avoid anger and gossip.
Parana — breaking the fast
The fast is broken the next day (Dwadashi), after sunrise and within Dwadashi tithi. It should not be broken during Hari Vasara, the first quarter of Dwadashi. The preferred time is Pratahkal, the early morning; if Hari Vasara runs past the morning, Parana moves to the afternoon (Aparahna) — Madhyahna is avoided.
The exact Parana window changes with your city and the year. Our Ekadashi calculator shows every Ekadashi of the year with its Parana time for your place.
Two Ekadashis on consecutive days?
Sometimes Ekadashi is kept on two days. Smarta families usually fast on the first; the second, called Gauna Ekadashi, is kept by sanyasis and many Vaishnavas.