Ekadashi Vrat Rules: What to Eat, Parana Time and Smarta vs Vaishnava Dates

Ekadashi, the eleventh tithi of each fortnight, is the most widely observed fast in Hinduism. It comes twice a month, giving 24 Ekadashis in a normal year and 26 in a year with an Adhika Maas. Each has a name and a story in the Puranas, from Nirjala Ekadashi in the heat of Jyeshtha to Devutthana Ekadashi, when Lord Vishnu is said to wake from his four-month sleep.

See the upcoming Ekadashi dates for your planning.

Why Ekadashi is observed

The Padma Purana describes Ekadashi as a goddess born from Lord Vishnu to defeat the demon Mura. Pleased, Vishnu granted that anyone fasting on her day would be freed of sins. Beyond the story, the fast is a discipline: one day each fortnight to step back from food and worldly activity and turn the mind to prayer, chanting and charity.

Types of Ekadashi fast

Choose what suits your health and tradition:

• Nirjala: no food or water, from sunrise on Ekadashi to Parana on Dwadashi. This is traditionally kept on Nirjala Ekadashi.
• Jalahar: water only.
• Phalahar: fruits, milk and permitted foods.
• Ek-bhukta: a single sattvic meal without grains.

People who are elderly, pregnant, unwell or on medication should choose a gentler form or consult a doctor. Tradition values sincerity over severity.

Foods to avoid

On Ekadashi, devotees avoid:

• All grains and cereals: rice, wheat, millet, maize, barley
• Pulses and beans: dal, chana, rajma
• Onion, garlic and, in many homes, tamarind and certain spices
• Non-vegetarian food and alcohol

Rice in particular is avoided. A popular belief holds that sin resides in grain on this day.

Foods commonly allowed

• Fruits, dry fruits and nuts
• Milk, curd, paneer and ghee
• Potatoes, sweet potatoes, arbi, pumpkin and raw banana
• Sabudana (sago), singhara (water chestnut) flour, kuttu (buckwheat) flour, rajgira (amaranth) and samak rice (barnyard millet)
• Rock salt (sendha namak), black pepper, cumin and green chillies

Family customs vary, so follow what your household traditionally permits.

Parana: breaking the fast correctly

Breaking the fast is as important as keeping it. Parana is done on Dwadashi, the day after Ekadashi:

1. Parana should be done after sunrise on Dwadashi.
2. It should be completed before Dwadashi tithi ends. Breaking the fast after Dwadashi is considered a lapse.
3. Avoid Hari Vasara, the first quarter of Dwadashi tithi. Wait for it to pass.
4. Morning (pratahkal) is preferred; avoid madhyahna (midday) if possible.

Check the Dwadashi end time on the panchang for your city the day after Ekadashi.

Smarta vs Vaishnava Ekadashi: why two dates?

Sometimes a calendar lists two Ekadashi dates in the same fortnight. This happens when Ekadashi tithi prevails at two consecutive sunrises, or when Dashami touches the dawn of Ekadashi.

• Smarta households usually fast on the first day, when Ekadashi prevails at sunrise.
• Vaishnava traditions (ISKCON, Pushtimarg and others) avoid an Ekadashi "touched" by Dashami at Arunodaya, about 96 minutes before sunrise. They often fast on the second day.

Our Ekadashi list follows the Smarta sunrise rule and adds a note when Vaishnava observance falls the next day. If you belong to a specific sampradaya, follow its calendar.

Doing the vrat: a simple routine

• Dashami evening: eat a light, sattvic meal before sunset and avoid grains after it.
• Ekadashi morning: bathe early, take a sankalpa (resolve) before Lord Vishnu and offer Tulsi leaves, flowers and a lamp. Close the puja with the Vishnu Aarti.
• During the day: read the vrat katha for that Ekadashi, chant Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya or the Vishnu Sahasranama (see mantras on SpiritualMarg), keep count with the naam jap counter, and avoid anger, gossip and daytime sleep. Reading the Bhagavad Gita is a traditional Ekadashi practice.
• Night: many devotees keep jagaran with bhajans.
• Dwadashi: perform Parana within the right window, ideally after offering food to a Brahmin or someone in need.

Key takeaways

• There are 24 Ekadashis a year, each with its own name and significance.
• Grains and beans are avoided; fruits, milk and fasting flours are allowed.
• Break the fast on Dwadashi, after sunrise and before Dwadashi ends, avoiding Hari Vasara.
• Two dates mean Smarta and Vaishnava traditions differ, so follow your own.