एकादशी व्रत कथा और नियम

In the Padma Purana this katha is told by Krishna to Yudhishthira, when Yudhishthira asks why the Ekadashi fast is kept and how this tithi was born. Krishna says that the story is from the Satya Yuga, and that whoever hears it with faith gains the fruit of the Ekadashi fast.

In the Satya Yuga a mighty demon named Mura ruled in the city of Chandravati. By austerity and strength he gained such power that he defeated Indra, Agni, Vayu, Varuna and all the gods in battle, drove them out of heaven and made himself its master. The gods took to hiding here and there on the earth. No one had the strength to fight Mura.

The gods went with Indra to Shiva on Kailash and told him their grief. Shiva said, 'Mura's end is not in my hands. Go to Vishnu in the ocean of milk and take refuge in him; he alone will protect you.' The gods reached the ocean of milk and praised Vishnu resting on Shesha. Indra folded his hands and said, 'Lord, Mura has taken everything from us. We wander, driven out of our own world. You alone are our protector.'

Vishnu gave the gods his word and set out for Chandravati. Mura came with his army to stop him. Battle began: the Lord's arrows cut down Mura's army, but Mura himself could not be slain. It is said that this battle went on for a thousand years. When Mura did not die, Vishnu withdrew from the field to shake off his weariness and went to a cave called Hemavati in Badrikashram, twelve yojanas long, with a single door. There he lay down in yogic sleep.

Mura followed him into the cave. Seeing the Lord asleep, he thought to kill him in his sleep and raised his weapon. In that instant a radiant goddess sprang from Vishnu's body, divine weapons in her hands and a fierce light on her face. She challenged Mura to fight. Mura struck at her, but at a single roar from the goddess his weapons fell from his hands, and she slew him on the spot. Mura's army fled. The battle that a thousand years had not won was finished in a moment while the Lord slept.

When Vishnu woke he saw Mura's body before him and the goddess standing with folded hands. She said, 'Lord, this demon meant to kill you in your sleep. I was born from your body and I have slain him.' The Lord was pleased and said, 'You were born from my body on the eleventh tithi, Ekadashi, so Ekadashi is your name. You are dearest to me, and your tithi is my tithi. Whoever keeps a fast on your day will be freed of their sins and will come at last to my abode.' The goddess Ekadashi asked a boon: 'Lord, let those who keep a complete fast on my day, those who eat once of fruit, and those who stay awake in the night taking your name, all receive your grace.' The Lord said, 'So be it.'

The rule of eating no grain on Ekadashi is tied to this story. Tradition says that on Ekadashi Vishnu ordered all the sins of the world to take shelter in grain, so that whoever gives up grain on this day is released from sin as well; that is why grain eaten on Ekadashi is likened to eating sin, and rice before all else, because rice belongs to water and the Moon, and Ekadashi is a tithi of the Moon. Some tellings say it was a part of Mura himself that hid in grain, and so grain was forbidden. Whichever reason is given, the rule is one: no grain on Ekadashi.

Krishna told Yudhishthira that the Ekadashi of the dark fortnight of Margashirsha on which the goddess appeared is called Utpanna Ekadashi, and the Ekadashi vow is counted as beginning from it; whoever wishes to take up the vow should begin from Utpanna Ekadashi. From that day the Ekadashi of both the bright and the dark fortnight is Hari's tithi. Whoever gives up grain on this day, takes the Lord's name, stays awake in the night and breaks the fast on Dwadashi gains the fruit of many sacrifices and pilgrimages, and whoever reads or hears this katha receives the same grace of the goddess Ekadashi before which a demon like Mura fell in a moment.

The fast begins on the evening of Dashami. On Dashami eat one light sattvic meal before sunset, without rice, masur, urad, chana, honey, onion or garlic. Do not eat at night, keep celibacy, and sleep with a quiet mind. Pluck the tulsi leaves for Ekadashi on Dashami itself and keep them ready, since tulsi is not plucked on Ekadashi.

On Ekadashi rise before sunrise, bathe and wear clean or yellow clothes. Before Vishnu take water, akshat and a flower in your hand for the sankalp, the vow: 'Today I keep the Ekadashi fast for the pleasure of Lord Vishnu', and with it say that you will take no grain today. Hair and nails are not cut on this day, and oil is not applied to the body.

The first and greatest rule: no grain. Rice, wheat, barley, millet, maize, semolina, refined flour, all pulses and everything made from them, roti, rice, dal, puri, poha, khichdi, bread and biscuits, are not taken on Ekadashi. Rice is forbidden most of all. Ordinary salt, masur, onion and garlic, meat and liquor, and by tradition honey too, are left out. Cooked food from another's house is also not taken on this day.

What the phalahar is: fruit, milk, curd, buttermilk, paneer, nuts, sago, buckwheat and water-chestnut flour, amaranth, potato, sweet potato, colocasia, bottle gourd, pumpkin, cucumber and rock salt. One meal made from these is the phalahar. Those who are able keep nirjala, without even water, or stay on water alone; those who are not take one meal of phalahar. Both count as the fast; in the story the goddess Ekadashi asked the boon for both.

The puja of Vishnu: bathe the picture or the Shaligram with panchamrit and Ganga water, offer yellow cloth, sandal, akshat, yellow flowers and the tulsi leaves plucked on Dashami. Light the ghee lamp and incense. Chant a mala of 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya'; if there is time, read the Vishnu Sahasranama or a chapter of the Gita. Read or hear the katha of that day's Ekadashi, and if none is at hand, this story of her birth. Then do the aarti.

Conduct: the Ekadashi fast is of the mind more than the stomach. On this day keep away from anger, lies, gossip, quarrels, gambling and every kind of indulgence. Do not sleep in the day; in tradition, sleeping by day breaks the fast. Give something in charity if you can: grain, cloth, or a meal to someone hungry. Keep the chanting of Hari's name going.

The vigil: the night of Ekadashi is a night for staying awake in the Lord's name, with bhajans, kirtan, the Vishnu Sahasranama or the reading of this katha. In the story the goddess Ekadashi asked a separate boon for those who stay awake in the night. Those who cannot keep the whole night should sing at least until midnight and bow to the Lord before sleeping.

The paran: the Ekadashi fast is broken not on Ekadashi but on the next day, Dwadashi, and this breaking is the paran. It should be done after sunrise, after the Hari Vasara has passed, and before the Dwadashi tithi ends. The Hari Vasara is the first quarter of the Dwadashi tithi, counted as part of Ekadashi itself; the fast is not broken within it. If Dwadashi is ending shortly after sunrise, break the fast right after sunrise. Letting Dwadashi pass without the paran is counted a fault. Before the paran bathe and do the puja, feed a brahmin or someone hungry, then take water with a tulsi leaf to open the fast and eat grain. This Ekadashi's Hari Vasara and paran window are shown above this text from the panchang.

What breaks the fast: eating grain or rice even by mistake, sleeping in the day, anger, lies and quarrels, and letting Dwadashi pass without the paran. If a rule is broken, do not abandon the fast: ask the Lord's forgiveness, complete the remaining rules and do the paran properly. Often the panchang shows Ekadashi on two days, Smarta and Vaishnava. When Ekadashi is touched by Dashami at sunrise, the Vaishnava tradition keeps the fast on the following day; choose the day by the tradition of your family or guru and by the panchang. Both are valid.

Who may keep it leniently: tradition says the Ekadashi fast is for everyone from the age of eight to eighty, women and men, every varna and every stage of life. Small children, the very old, the sick, pregnant and nursing women and those on a journey should not keep nirjala; for them one or two meals of phalahar, or simply giving up rice and remembering the Lord, is the whole fast. Even those who cannot give up grain should at least give up rice on this day; that much of the story's rule is for everyone.

Every Ekadashi has its own name, its own katha and its own fruit. In the list below the months are named by the purnimanta reckoning of north India, in which the dark fortnight comes first and the bright second, so the first Ekadashi of each month is the one of the dark fortnight. In the amanta reckoning of south and west India the dark-fortnight Ekadashi is called by the previous month's name, but the name of the Ekadashi and its fruit are the same in both. Check this year's dates in the panchang; this site shows the next Ekadashi above.

Chaitra: Papmochani Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, is kept for release from sin and for repentance; the name itself means the one that frees from sin. Kamada Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, is for the fulfilment of wishes and for release from a curse or a fault; it is the first Ekadashi of the year, after the Chaitra Navratri.

Vaishakha: Varuthini Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, is kept for good fortune, protection and shelter from sorrow. Mohini Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, is for release from attachment, delusion and ill luck; it is tied to the day Vishnu took the form of Mohini and gave the nectar to the gods.

Jyeshtha: Apara Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, is kept for boundless merit and fame, and for release from grave sins. Nirjala Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, also called Bhima Ekadashi, is kept without water, and this one Ekadashi alone gives the fruit of all the Ekadashis of the year; those who cannot keep Ekadashi through the year keep this one.

Ashadha: Yogini Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, is kept for freedom from disease and the lifting of a curse. Devshayani Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, also Harishayani or Padma, is the day Vishnu enters his yogic sleep and the chaturmas begins; it is the Ekadashi of the vow of four months of restraint and practice.

Shravana: Kamika Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, is kept for the fulfilment of wishes and the peace of the ancestors; the worship of Vishnu with tulsi leaves has special weight on this day. Putrada Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, the Shravana Putrada, is for couples who long for a child.

Bhadrapada: Aja Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, also Annada, is kept for the destruction of sins and for steadiness in adversity; its katha is that of King Harishchandra. Parivartini Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, also Parshva, Vamana or Jaljhulani Ekadashi, is the day the sleeping Lord turns on his side; it is tied to the Vamana avatar and is kept for devotion and humility.

Ashwin: Indira Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, is kept for the liberation of the ancestors; it falls in the Pitru Paksha and its fruit is offered to them. Papankusha Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, is for reining in sin and for taking refuge in the Lord; it comes after the autumn Navratri and Dussehra.

Kartika: Rama Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, is kept for the grace of Lakshmi, for wealth and good fortune; it comes a few days before Diwali. Prabodhini Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, the Dev Uthani or Devotthana Ekadashi, is the day Vishnu wakes from his four-month sleep, the chaturmas ends and the wedding muhurtas open again; its full katha has its own page on this site.

Margashirsha: Utpanna Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, is the day the goddess Ekadashi appeared, the story told above, and the tithi on which the Ekadashi vow is begun. Mokshada Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, is kept for liberation and for the release of the ancestors; it is also Gita Jayanti, since by tradition Krishna spoke the Gita to Arjuna on this tithi.

Pausha: Saphala Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, is kept for success in undertakings and the completion of stalled work. Putrada Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, the Pausha Putrada or Vaikuntha Ekadashi, is for the gift of a child; in south India the door of Vaikuntha opens on this day and temples give darshan through the northern gate.

Magha: on Shattila Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, sesame is used in six ways, in the bath, as a paste, in the fire offering, in the water offering to the ancestors, in charity and in food, and it is kept to drive out poverty and for the fruit of giving. Jaya Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, also Bhishma Ekadashi, is kept for release from the state of a wandering spirit and from low births, and for victory.

Phalguna: Vijaya Ekadashi, in the dark fortnight, is kept for victory over enemies and success in hard undertakings; in the story Rama kept this fast before crossing to Lanka. Amalaki Ekadashi, in the bright fortnight, is the Ekadashi of the worship of the amla tree, kept for health, long life and wealth; it comes a few days before Holi.

The extra month: in a year with an adhika or Purushottama month two more Ekadashis are added. Padmini Ekadashi, in its bright fortnight, and Parama Ekadashi, in its dark fortnight, are both held dear to the Lord as Purushottama, and tradition calls their fruit greater than that of all the others, since they come only once in about three years. On Parama Ekadashi there is also the tradition of a five-day Pancharatra fast.

Tradition calls Ekadashi the mother of all fasts. Its vow is said to give the fruit of many sacrifices and pilgrimages, to wear away sin, to free the ancestors and at last to give Vishnu's abode. But the inner meaning of the story is more direct still: the power that felled Mura sprang from the Lord's body while he was at rest, and the Ekadashi fast is likewise a day of giving the mind and the senses rest so that the strength within can wake. Giving up grain for one day twice a month also lightens the body, which is why Ayurveda too approves of this fast.

Seen through astrology, Ekadashi is the tithi of Jupiter and the Moon. For those whose Jupiter is debilitated, combust or afflicted by malefics, who are passing through a hard Jupiter dasha, whose houses of dharma, children or marriage are weak, or whose Moon is weak and whose mind stays restless, the Ekadashi fast is given as a remedy. Those who cannot keep it through the year should keep at least four: Nirjala, Devshayani, Dev Uthani and Utpanna.

After the Ekadashi puja and the katha, the Vishnu aarti 'Om Jai Jagdish Hare' is sung. Wave the aarti with a ghee lamp and camphor, sound the conch or the bell, and at the end bow saying 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya'. After the aarti share the prasad of fruit and sweets and begin the night vigil; the fast opens only at the paran on Dwadashi the next day.