Observance

Ekādaśī — the eleventh, and the day after

एकादशी

In short

Ekādaśī is the eleventh lunar day, which falls twice in every lunar month — once in the waxing fortnight and once in the waning. It is traditionally kept for Viṣṇu, commonly with a fast, and it is judged at sunrise.

Why it matters The day that follows matters as much as the day itself: the fast is broken in a particular window on Dvādaśī, called pāraṇa.

Take away Twenty-four or twenty-five Ekādaśīs fall in a year, and each has its own name.

Twice a month, and judged at sunrise

The eleventh tithi of each fortnight is Ekādaśī. Because it is judged by which tithi is running at sunrise, an Ekādaśī that begins late in the evening is kept the following day — and occasionally an Ekādaśī that begins and ends between two sunrises does not hold at any sunrise at all.

Over a solar year that gives twenty-four Ekādaśīs, and twenty-five in a year with an intercalary lunar month.

Pāraṇa — breaking the fast

The observance does not end at midnight. The fast is traditionally broken during a window on the following day, Dvādaśī, and that window is bounded: it begins after sunrise and must fall before Dvādaśī itself ends.

This is why a calendar that lists Ekādaśī without the day after is only half useful, and why this site’s Ekādaśī entries carry the pāraṇa day alongside.

The named Ekādaśīs

Each Ekādaśī in the year carries its own name — among them Vaikuṇṭha Ekādaśī, Devaśayanī and Devotthāna, which mark the beginning and end of the four-month Cāturmāsya period. Some are kept by nearly everybody who keeps any; others are observed regionally or by particular sampradāyas.

This site’s calendar lists the dates and names for the Bay Area. Which ones a family keeps, and how, is the family’s own tradition.

What a family may do

Check whether the Ekādaśī holds at sunrise on the day you expect — occasionally it shifts by a day here relative to India.
Note the pāraṇa window as well as the fast day.
Fasting practice varies enormously — complete, partial, grain-free, or none at all with a household pooja instead. If health is a consideration, it is a perfectly ordinary thing to discuss with Gurukkal.

Often misunderstood

That Ekādaśī is always the eleventh of the English month. It follows the Moon.
That the observance ends when the day does. Pāraṇa is part of it.
That everyone keeps the same fast. Practice differs by family and sampradāya.

Where traditions differ

Smārta and Vaiṣṇava traditions sometimes observe Ekādaśī on different days when the tithi straddles a sunrise, and some almanacs print both. Where the dates differ, follow your family’s tradition and tell your priest which you keep.

Explaining it to a child

Twice a month there is a day when many families eat simply and spend a little more time in prayer. The next morning they eat normally again, at a particular time. It follows the Moon, so it moves around the calendar.

Sources and review status

This page describes widely-documented traditional practice, prepared from the sources listed below. It is not a ruling, and it does not describe Sri Kumar Gurukkal’s personal practice unless it says so explicitly. Family-specific guidance should be confirmed with him.

Last reviewed 2026-08-20 · Editorial & ritual standards · Credits & Acknowledgements