In short
- Ekadashi is the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight, so it falls twice a month.
- The one rule nearly everyone keeps: no grains and no pulses, rice above all.
- The fast is ended the next morning, on Dwadashi, after sunrise. This is called parana.
- The day is meant for more naam, not only for less food. If you are unwell, do not fast.
What Ekadashi is
Ekadashi simply means the eleventh. It is the eleventh day of each fortnight of the lunar month, once while the moon is waxing and once while it is waning, which gives about twenty four in a year. The day is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, and for Vaishnavas it is the principal fast of the calendar.
Each Ekadashi has its own name and story, but the way of keeping the day is the same for all of them.
Three ways the fast is kept
Nirjala
No food and no water for the whole day. The strictest form, and not for anyone who is unwell, elderly or new to fasting.
Phalahar
Fruit, milk and other permitted foods, with water. The form most people keep.
One simple meal
A single meal without grains. A sound way to begin, and for people whose work is physical.
A simpler fast kept every time is worth more than a strict one kept twice a year.
What is usually eaten, and what is avoided
| Commonly eaten | Avoided |
|---|---|
| Fruit and dry fruit | Rice, above everything else |
| Milk, curd, paneer | Wheat and other grains |
| Potato, sweet potato | Dal, beans and other pulses |
| Sabudana, makhana, peanuts | Onion and garlic |
| Kuttu and singhara flour | Ordinary salt, in many homes |
| Rock salt (sendha namak) | Meat, eggs, alcohol and tobacco |
Customs differ from family to family and from one tradition to another. Where yours differs from this table, follow yours.
The fast runs across three days
- Dashami, the day beforeEat simply, and many people take only one meal. The fast is easier when it is not begun on a heavy stomach.
- Ekadashi, the day itselfKeep the form of fast you have chosen, from sunrise. Give the time that meals would have taken to naam, kirtan or reading.
- Dwadashi, the next morningEnd the fast after sunrise, within the period the panchang gives. This is parana, and it is as much a part of the vrat as the fasting.
Why this article gives no dates
Ekadashi dates are calculated from the panchang and depend on sunrise at your location, so they can differ by a day between cities, and between the Smarta and Vaishnava reckonings. A list on a website is wrong for somebody.
Use a panchang for your own city, or ask at your local temple, and note the parana time along with the date.
What the day is for
The food rules are the smaller half. The point of eating less is to have more of the day for remembrance: more naam, some reading, less talk, less screen.
An Ekadashi kept on fruit by someone who spent it irritable and counting the hours has missed the purpose. If the fast makes you sharp with the people around you, keep a lighter one.
Who should not fast strictly
- Anyone who is ill, or on medicine that has to be taken with food
- People with diabetes, low blood pressure or any condition a doctor is managing
- Pregnant and nursing women
- Young children and the very elderly
For all of these, a single grain-free meal, or simply giving up rice for the day, is an accepted way to keep Ekadashi. Ask your doctor first. A fast is never a reason to stop treatment.
Where this site stands
This is a site about Premanand Ji Maharaj, and we are not attributing any ruling about Ekadashi to him in this article: it is general reference on a fast that devotees ask about. What this site does record of his teaching is that the naam needs no particular day, hour or condition, and that he sends people who are unwell to doctors.
For that, read how to start naam jap or the teachings page.
This is a fan website, not the official site of Shri Hit Radha Keli Kunj. The article summarises what he teaches in public satsang; it does not quote him. If something here is wrong, tell us and it is corrected the same week.
