Hindu festival · San Francisco Bay Area
Devutthana Ekadashi
Dates for the Bay Area
- Friday, 20 November 2026Major vratanext
- Tuesday, 9 November 2027Major vrata
- Saturday, 28 October 2028Major vrata
Why it matters
Kārttika śukla ekādaśī, also called Prabodhinī or Haribodhinī Ekādaśī. Viṣṇu is believed to wake on this day from the four-month sleep that began at Śayanī Ekādaśī, which ends Cāturmāsya. Because weddings are traditionally deferred during that period, many communities treat this day as reopening the marriage season.
Where it falls
It ends the Cāturmāsya that began at Śayanī Ekādaśī and opens the Tulasī Vivāha season. It also begins a five-day period that culminates at Kārttika Pūrṇimā, celebrated as Dev Dīpāvalī.
The story behind it
Viṣṇu goes to sleep on Śayanī Ekādaśī and rests on the ocean of milk through the monsoon months. On this day he is said to rise and take up the care of the worlds again.
Prayers and worship
Evening worship of Viṣṇu and Lakṣmī is common in North India. In Maharashtra, Vārkarī devotees gather at the Viṭṭhal temple in Pandharpur for Kārttikī Ekādaśī, where an official mahāpūjā is performed. In many regions Tulasī Vivāha is performed on this day or the next.
How families keep it
Fasting varies widely. The most devout Vaiṣṇavas abstain from food and keep an all-night vigil, while many people take a single evening meal. In Nepal, households commonly eat only fruit, vegetables and milk products, avoiding grains and beans.
What is typically offered
In parts of North India the evening pūjā includes offerings of sugarcane, rice and dried red chillies, which are later given to priests.
Visiting a temple that day
Fasting rules differ by lineage and health. Temples may publish a specific Parana window; visitors should not assume every devotee is fasting identically. Temple practices vary by region and sampradaya. Dress modestly, remove footwear where required, follow priest/volunteer directions, ask before photography, and check the temple’s event page for exact pooja, fasting and prasādam arrangements.
Sources for this page (6)
The description above is this site’s own, researched from the sources below and written in our words; each section rests on at least two of them. It has not been reviewed by Sri Kumar Gurukkal, and it describes how families commonly keep the day — your family’s tradition comes first.
- Prabodhini Ekadashi — Wikipedia
- CREDOS: Prabodhini Ekadashi (9 Nov 2008) — The Himalayan Times
- Prabodhini Ekadashi 2024: devotees worship Lord Vishnu to celebrate new beginnings (12 Nov 2024) — Telangana Today
- Haribodhani Ekadashi: the Lord awakens, Hindu wedding season starts (31 Oct 2017) — Onlinekhabar (English)
- Dev Deepavali (Varanasi) — Wikipedia
- Fadnavis performs mahapuja at Vitthal temple in Pandharpur (5 Nov 2022) — The Hitavada
Request this pooja
Ask Sri Kumar Gurukkal about a pooja for Devutthana Ekadashi — at your home, at a temple, or with family joining remotely. A request is an enquiry, not a booking.
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Subscribe to the festival calendar Share on WhatsAppThe 2026–27 dates were compiled from a Northern-California Panchāṅgam reference for the Fremont / Bay Area location. The 2028 date is computed by this site’s own engine from the festival’s standard definition, tested against the 2026–27 dates: Kārttika śukla ekādaśī, judged at the tithi at sunrise (udaya-vyāpinī). No 2028 date has been checked against a printed almanac or reviewed by Sri Kumar Gurukkal. They can differ from a calendar computed for another city or another sampradāya. Please confirm any date on which you plan a ceremony with Sri Kumar Gurukkal. How these dates are calculated →