Dev Uthani Ekadashi 2026

Puja Vidhi: Gaudiya and ISKCON

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Gaudiya Vaishnavas and ISKCON Devotees: Devotees of Lord Vishnu and Lord Krishna in the Gaudiya tradition of Bengal, and in ISKCON temples and homes, keep this Ekadashi with a fast, chanting and the hearing of the Lord's pastimes (Lila Katha).
• Those Who Keep Bhishma Panchaka: Devotees who take up the five-day vow of Bhishma Panchaka begin it on this day.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Morning Worship: Rise in Brahma Muhurta (the pre-dawn hours before sunrise), bathe and worship Lord Vishnu.
• Fast and Night Vigil: The fast is kept through the day and the night is spent awake in the Lord's remembrance.
• Bhishma Panchaka: The vow begins on this day and continues up to Rasa Purnima, when the fast is broken at sunset.
• Breaking the Fast: The Ekadashi fast is broken on Dwadashi (the twelfth day) in the paran time. Check the paran time for your city on this page.

About the Festival

Utthana Ekadashi, also called Haribodhini Ekadashi, is a deeply revered Vaishnava observance, kept with a fast, chanting and a night vigil, and it marks the beginning of Bhishma Panchaka. It takes place on the Ekadashi (eleventh day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik. Many families also perform [Tulsi Vivah](tulsi-vivah) from this day to Kartik Purnima.

The Vrat Katha (Glory of Haribodhini Ekadashi, Brahma's Teaching to Narada)

The Puranas record that the sage Narada once asked his father Brahma to tell him the glory of Haribodhini Ekadashi, the Ekadashi of Kartik. Brahma answered that until this Ekadashi comes, the holy places (Tirthas) and the Ganga go on roaring with their own glory.

Brahma then described what this one day gives. A single fast on it equals a thousand Ashvamedha sacrifices and a hundred Rajasuya sacrifices. Keeping awake through its night burns away the sins of a thousand births, as fire burns a heap of cotton, and all the holy places come to dwell in the house of one who keeps it.

Narada asked how much a devotee gains by keeping it in different ways. Brahma explained that one midday meal on this day removes the sins of one birth, a meal taken only at supper removes the sins of two births, and a complete fast removes the sins of seven births. He added that narrating or hearing the accounts of Lord Vishnu in the month of Kartik pleases the Lord more than sacrifices do.

Brahma declared that one who fasts on this Ekadashi does not enter a womb again. Since that day, devotees have kept Haribodhini Ekadashi with a fast, a night of singing and hearing the Lord's katha, and worship of Lord Vishnu.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the morning puja:

• Tulasi: Tulasi Manjari (the flowering tops) and Tulasi leaves
• Flowers & Fruits: Fresh flowers and a variety of fruits
• Fragrances: Camphor, Agaru (aloeswood) and saffron
• Lamp & Arghya: A Ghee Diya, and a conch with water for the Arghya
• For Bhishma Panchaka: Lotus flowers, Bilva leaves, fragrant scents, Java flowers (hibiscus) and Malati flowers, and a Ghee Diya for each of the five days
• Havishya Food: Unparboiled rice, fruit with few seeds, and sugarcane products other than Gur (jaggery), cooked without oil

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Morning Bath and the Fast

1. Rise in Brahma Muhurta and bathe.
2. Worship Lord Vishnu.
3. Keep the fast through the day. A full fast is best.

Step 2: Offering Worship to the Lord

1. Tulasi: Offer Tulasi Manjari, which is considered highly auspicious on this day, and Tulasi leaves.
2. Flowers and Fruits: Offer many flowers and fruits.
3. Fragrances: Offer camphor, Agaru and saffron.

Step 3: Chanting and Hearing the Lord's Pastimes

1. Chant the holy names of the Lord throughout the day.
2. Hear the Lord's pastimes and keep the company of devotees.
3. Listen to the Haribodhini Ekadashi Katha told by Brahma to Narada.

Step 4: Night Vigil and Arghya

1. Stay awake through the night with singing, dancing and instruments, and the telling of the Lord's katha.
2. Take water in a conch and prepare a respectful offering (Arghya) with a variety of fruits.
3. Offer the Arghya to the Lord during the vigil.

Step 5: Beginning Bhishma Panchaka

1. Keep the diet of Havishya (simple food of unparboiled rice, cooked without oil), with fruit that has few seeds and sugarcane products other than Gur. Keep the full fast on Ekadashi itself.
2. Each day light a Ghee Diya and offer flowers to five parts of the Lord: a lotus at His feet on the first day, a Bilva leaf at the thigh on the second day, scents at the navel on the third day, a Java flower at the shoulders on the fourth day, and a Malati flower at the head on the fifth day.
3. Bathe and offer Tarpana (an offering of water) to Bhishmadeva.
4. Continue up to Rasa Purnima, when the fast is broken at sunset.

Step 6: Honouring the Guru and Breaking the Fast

1. Honour your guru with food, cloth and Dakshina (a gift of gratitude).
2. Give in charity as you are able.
3. Break the Ekadashi fast on Dwadashi in the paran time shown on this page.

Puja Vidhi: Sri Vaishnava (Kaisika Ekadashi)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Sri Vaishnava Devotees: Devotees of Sriman Narayana in the Sri Vaishnava tradition keep this Ekadashi as a day of fasting, song and remembrance of the Lord, in the spirit of Nampaduvan.
• Listeners of the Kaisika Puranam: Families and temple-goers come to hear the Kaisika Puranam read with its meaning, at home or in the temple, in the company of fellow devotees (Satsang).

When Should This Be Performed?

• The Fast: The Upavasa (fast, meaning "staying near the Lord") is kept through the day of the Ekadashi. Check the Ekadashi timings for your city on this page.
• The Night Vigil: The vigil of song and remembrance is kept through the night of the Ekadashi. Check the timings for your city on this page.
• Kaisika Dwadasi: The day after the Ekadashi is Kaisika Dwadasi, which has its own temple observances.

About the Festival

Kaisika Ekadasi is a much-loved Sri Vaishnava observance of the temples of Tamil Nadu, on which the Kaisika Puranam, the 48th chapter of the Varaha Purana, is recited and heard. The Ekadashi takes its name from the Kaisika raga, the melody in which Nampaduvan sang to the Lord.

The Vrat Katha (Story of Nampaduvan and the Brahmarakshasa)

Having lifted Mother Earth (Bhudevi) from the ocean, Lord Varaha answered her concern for the beings caught in the cycle of birth and death (Samsara) by telling her of a devotee. Near Thirukkurungudi, in Tirunelveli district, where the Lord stands as Malaimel Nambi on the hill and as the sitting, standing and reclining Nambi below, there lived a singer born in a downtrodden family. He sang every day to the Lord with his veena and was therefore called Nampaduvan, "our singer".

On the night of the Ekadashi, Nampaduvan set out to sing before the Lord, and under a tree a Brahmarakshasa seized him to eat him. Nampaduvan was not afraid. He begged to be let go first so that he might sing, and promised again and again that he would return. When the Rakshasa was not satisfied, he swore: "If I do not come back, may I bear the sin of one who sets Sriman Narayana level with other beings." The Rakshasa let him go.

Nampaduvan sang before the Lord and came back, true to his word, to be eaten. The Rakshasa, who in a past birth had been a Vedic priest and had chanted the Vedas without proper rule, now asked for the merit of his singing instead. Nampaduvan refused, for he sang as service to the Lord and not for merit, but he then gave the merit of the song sung in the Kaisika raga.

The Brahmarakshasa was freed from his curse, and the Ekadashi was named Kaisika after that raga. Since that day, devotees have kept this Ekadashi with fasting and song, and the Kaisika Puranam is recited and heard.

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Upavasa

1. Keep the Upavasa as "being near God": fast, or eat less than usual, through the day.
2. Turn your mind to the Lord and keep the company of fellow devotees (Satsang).

Step 2: Night Vigil

1. Stay awake through the night singing the glory of the Lord, in remembrance of Nampaduvan's night vigil (Jagaratha Vratham).

Step 3: Hearing the Kaisika Puranam

1. Sit with your family, or go to the temple, and hear the Kaisika Puranam read with its meaning.
2. In the temples the Sanskrit verses (Moola Slokas) are recited together with the commentary of Parasara Bhattar.

Step 4: The Puranam at Srirangam

1. At Srirangam a scholar of the line of Parasara Bhattar recites the Puranam before the Lord Ranganatha.
2. He is honoured with a shawl at each section, and at the end he is carried home on the Lord's palanquin (Brahmaratha Mariyadai).

Step 5: The Kaisika Natakam at Thirukkurungudi

1. At Thirukkurungudi, where Nampaduvan's story took place, the whole episode is enacted as a musical drama, the Kaisika Natakam.
2. Watch the story of Nampaduvan and the Brahmarakshasa unfold in song and play.

Puja Vidhi: Maharashtra (Kartiki Ekadashi)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Warkaris: Warkaris, the pilgrims devoted to Lord Vitthal (Vithoba), walk the Kartiki wari to Pandharpur, as they do at Ashadhi, to see the Lord.
• Marathi Families: Most Marathi families keep a fast (Upvas) on Ashadhi and Kartiki Ekadashi and worship Vishnu at home or in a temple, and the Vaishnava and Bhagavata sampradayas keep it too.
• Devotees Who Cannot Travel: Those who cannot go to Pandharpur worship at a Vitthal temple near them or at home.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Dawn at Pandharpur: The pilgrims' bath in the Chandrabhaga river and the state mahapuja of Vitthal take place at dawn (the early light before sunrise).
• Bakpanchak: From this day to Purnima, a stretch of five days, fish and meat are given up.
• Breaking the Fast: On Dwadashi (the twelfth day), within the paran time (the window for breaking the fast). Check the paran time for your city on this page.

About the Festival

Kartiki Ekadashi is a deeply revered Maharashtrian observance in which Warkaris walk to Pandharpur to see Lord Vitthal and Marathi families fast and worship Vishnu. It is the day when Vishnu, asleep on Shesha in the ocean of milk since Ashadhi Ekadashi, slowly begins to wake, which is why it is also called Prabodhini (Devauthi). It takes place on the Ekadashi (eleventh day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the puja:

• Seat and Shrine: Flowers, leaves and Torans (decorative strings) for the god's seat and the shrine
• Prasad: Prasad to distribute after the worship
• Recitation: The Vishnu Sahasranama (the thousand names of Vishnu)

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Keeping the Fast

1. Keep the fast (Upvas) of Kartiki Ekadashi, as Marathi families do on Ashadhi and Kartiki.
2. For the five days from today to Purnima, give up fish and meat (Bakpanchak). It is said that the Lord wakes by degrees over these days, so that even the heron eats no fish.

Step 2: The Kartiki Wari to Pandharpur

1. If you are a Warkari, walk the Kartiki wari to Pandharpur, as at Ashadhi, calling "Dnyanoba Mauli Tukaram" along the way, and help those around you on the road.
2. At dawn, take a holy bath in the Chandrabhaga river.
3. At dawn the state mahapuja of Vitthal is also performed at the temple by the Chief Minister or a minister of Maharashtra, together with a couple of Warkaris chosen for the honour (Manache Warkari). This is done at the temple and is not a home step.

Step 3: If You Cannot Go to Pandharpur

1. Visit a Vitthal temple near you.
2. If you cannot do even that, worship at home.
3. Recite the Vishnu Sahasranama.

Step 4: Worship at Home or in the Temple

1. Decorate the god's seat and the shrine with flowers, leaves and Torans, and worship.
2. Remember Prahlad, Narada, Vyasa and the other devotees (Bhaktas) of the Lord, and sing bhajans and kirtans with musical instruments.
3. Distribute the prasad.
4. Finally, pull the god's Ratha (chariot), so that the Lord wakes and begins His work of welfare again.

Step 5: Completing the Day

1. Complete (Udyapan) the vows you began at Ashadhi.
2. On Dwadashi, break your fast within the paran time shown on this page.
3. Many families also perform Tulsi Vivah from this day to Kartik Purnima.

Puja Vidhi: North India (Dev Uthani)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Families: Families across North India keep this vrat at home, worshipping Lord Vishnu on the day He wakes from His four months of sleep and seeking His blessings for the household and for the weddings and good work that now begin again.
• Devotees of Vishnu: Devotees of Vishnu keep the Ekadashi fast, as strictly or as lightly as their health allows (Upavasa), and stay with the Lord through the evening and the night.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Morning Worship: The bath and the first worship of Vishnu are done early, in Brahma Muhurta (the pre-dawn hour before sunrise).
• Waking of the Gods: The gods are woken in the evening, and the main puja is done then. Check the puja muhurat for your city on this page.
• Night: The ghee lamp is kept burning through the night.
• Breaking the Fast (Paran): The fast is broken on Dwadashi (the day after Ekadashi), within the paran window, which is not always in the morning. Check the paran time for your city on this page.

About the Festival

Dev Uthani Ekadashi, also called Devuthani Gyaras, is a much-loved North Indian observance on which Lord Vishnu is said to wake from His four months of yoga nidra (divine sleep) that began on Devshayani Ekadashi, Chaturmas comes to an end, and weddings and other auspicious work begin again. It takes place on the Ekadashi (eleventh day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik. Many families also perform Tulsi Vivah from this day to Kartik Purnima; see the Tulsi Vivah page.

The Vrat Katha (Story of the King and the Outsider Who Ate with the Lord)

Once upon a time there was a king in whose kingdom everyone kept the fast of Ekadashi. On that day no grain was given to anyone, from the subjects and servants to the animals. One day a man from another kingdom came to the king and asked for work. The king agreed, on the condition that he would be given everything to eat except grain on Ekadashi.

When Ekadashi came, the man was given fruit, and he begged the king that it would not fill him. So he was given flour, dal and rice. He took them to the river, bathed, cooked his meal, and called out to the Lord: "Come, Bhagwan, the food is ready." The Lord came in His four-armed form, in yellow garments, ate with him and vanished. At the next Ekadashi the man asked for double, because the Lord ate with him.

The king did not believe it. He said to himself: "I fast and worship so much, yet the Lord has never given me darshan." He hid behind a tree and watched the man call all day in vain. When the man said he would drown himself and walked towards the river, the Lord appeared, stopped him, ate with him, and took him to His abode in a vimana (a heavenly chariot).

The king then understood that a fast gives nothing unless the mind is pure. He kept the vrat with a true heart and reached heaven. Since that day, the Ekadashi vrat is kept with a pure and honest heart.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the morning worship:

• Footprints & Offering Place: Geru (red ochre) for the footprints, an Okhli (mortar) to paint with Geru, and a Daliya (basket) to cover the offerings
• Offerings (Naivedya): Sugarcane, Singhara (water chestnut), Ber, Shakarkand (sweet potato), seasonal fruit, and yellow sweets
• Worship Items: An image of Vishnu or a Shaligram, flowers, Akshat (unbroken rice grains), Roli, Chandan (sandalwood paste), Dhoop (incense), and Tulsi leaves
• Lamps: Pure Ghee and a Diya, and more Diyas to place outside the house and at the shrine
• For Waking the Gods: A conch, a bell, and a Thali with something to beat it
• Prasad & Charity: Panchamrit, and clothes, money, grain and yellow things to give in charity

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Morning Bath, Sankalp and the Fast

1. Clean the house, rise in Brahma Muhurta, bathe, sprinkle a little Ganga water, and wear yellow clothes.
2. Take the Sankalp (solemn vow) to keep the fast of Dev Uthani Ekadashi.
3. Keep the fast without water, or on liquids only. The sick, the old, children and those who are very busy may keep one meal of fruit, and if even that is not possible, at least avoid rice and salt.
4. Take no tamasic food (onion, garlic, meat, alcohol or stale food) and no rice, and do not pluck Tulsi leaves on this day.

Step 2: Morning Worship of Vishnu

1. Set the image of Vishnu or the Shaligram before you and offer flowers, Akshat, Roli, Chandan, the Tulsi leaves you already have, fruit and sweets.
2. Light a Ghee Diya and Dhoop.
3. Repeat the mantra "ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय" with devotion.
4. Perform the Vishnu Aarti with the lit lamp.

Step 3: Footprints and Offerings (Evening)

1. In the courtyard or by the shrine, draw the footprints of Vishnu in Geru.
2. Paint an Okhli with Geru and set on it the sugarcane, Singhara, Ber, Shakarkand, seasonal fruit and yellow sweets, then cover it with a Daliya. Place the things you will give in charity nearby.
3. Light a Diya of pure Ghee by the footprints. It is kept burning through the night.
4. Worship Vishnu together with Goddess Lakshmi and all the gods.

Step 4: Waking the Gods

1. Blow the conch and ring the bell to wake the gods.
2. Beat the Thali and sing the song "Utho deva, baitho deva" (Wake, O gods, rise, O gods).
3. Offer Panchamrit to the woken gods.

Step 5: Hearing the Vrat Katha

1. Sit respectfully before the shrine with your family.
2. Recite or listen to the Dev Uthani Ekadashi Vrat Katha with deep focus and devotion.

Step 6: Prasad, Charity and Breaking the Fast

1. Share the prasad among your family.
2. Give clothes, money, grain and yellow things in charity.
3. At night, light Diyas outside the house and at the shrine.
4. Break the fast on Dwadashi, within the paran window shown on this page, and not on Ekadashi.

Puja Vidhi: Odisha (Bada Ekadashi)

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Married Women: Married women worship Vrundavati, the tulsi plant, for the long life of their husbands.
• Families and Devotees of Jagannath: Odia families keep the five days of Panchuka (Panchuka) from this day, and devotees go to Puri to see Lord Jagannath in Lakshmi-Narayan Besha.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Rising: Rise before sunrise on the day of Bada Ekadashi.
• Worship: The worship of Lakshmi and Narayan and of Vrundavati is done on Bada Ekadashi. Check the date and the puja muhurat for your city on this page.
• Panchuka: The five days of Panchuka begin on Bada Ekadashi and end on Kartik Purnima.
• Besha at Puri: Lord Jagannath is shown in Lakshmi-Narayan Besha on Ekadashi, after the Abakasha niti (the temple ritual).

About the Festival

Bada Ekadashi is a much-loved Odia observance that opens Panchuka, the five days of giving up fish and meat, eating habisha food and worshipping Lakshmi-Narayan and Vrundavati. It takes place on the Ekadashi (eleventh day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik. Many families also perform Tulsi Vivah from this day to Kartik Purnima.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the puja:

• Tulsi Plant: The tulsi plant on its raised platform (Tulasi Chaura)
• Muruja Colours: White from ground stone, green from dry leaves, yellow from marigold or turmeric, and red from red clay or brick
• Sound Offerings: A conch (Shankha)
• Habisha Food: The ingredients for a simple habisha meal

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Rising and Panchuka Food

1. Rise before sunrise.
2. Give up fish and meat for these five days, when even the cranes are said to abandon fish.
3. Eat habisha food, leaving out certain gourds, brinjal, many pulses and some leafy vegetables.

Step 2: Worshipping Lakshmi and Narayan

1. Worship Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Narayan.

Step 3: Worshipping Vrundavati

1. Married women worship Vrundavati as the tulsi plant for the long life of their husbands. It is believed that the chastity and purity of Vrundavati sustained the life of her husband, and that women who worship her earn the same merit.
2. Draw patterns of Muruja (rangoli) in front of the Tulasi Chaura, using the colours made from ground stone, dry leaves, marigold or turmeric, and red clay or brick.
3. Sound the conch and the festive hulahuli call.

Step 4: Lord Jagannath in Lakshmi-Narayan Besha

1. At Puri, see Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra in Lakshmi-Narayan Besha (festive dress), shown after the Abakasha niti, in silk cloth (Patabastra) and flower ornaments.
2. On the days that follow, the Bankachuda, Tribikrama, Lakshmi-Nrusingha and Rajarajeswar Beshas are shown.

Step 5: Keeping Panchuka to Kartik Purnima

1. Keep the Panchuka food and worship through the five days until Kartik Purnima. See the Kartik Purnima guide for how Panchuka closes.

Puja Vidhi: Swaminarayan Sampraday

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Followers of Bhagwan Swaminarayan: Followers of the Swaminarayan Sampraday keep this Ekadashi with a waterless fast (Nirjala Vrat), the fifth of the five waterless fasts of the year.
• Devotees at the Mandir: Devotees visit the Swaminarayan mandir to see the fresh vegetables offered before the Lord (Hatadi) and to offer the niyams they kept through the four months of Chaturmas.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Morning: The Sankalp and the daily puja are done early in the morning, after the bath. Check the morning muhurat for your city on this page.
• Through the Day: The waterless fast is kept for the whole day, with the mind turned to the Lord and the repetition of His name.
• Evening: A second bath and puja are done in the evening. Check the puja muhurat for your city on this page.

About the Festival

Dev Prabodhini Ekadashi is a deeply revered observance of the Swaminarayan Sampraday, kept with a waterless fast, an offering of fresh vegetables and the offering of the Chaturmas niyams at the Lord's feet. It is also said that on this day the Lord returns from guarding the door of Bali Raja. The followers remember too the birth of Dharmadev and the maha-diksha of Nilkanth Varni as Sahajanand Swami at Piplana. It takes place on the Ekadashi (eleventh day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik. Many families also perform Tulsi Vivah from this day to Kartik Purnima.

The Vrat Katha (Story of Brahma and Narada)

Once Narada, the sage who wanders the worlds singing the Lord's praise, asked Brahma how this Ekadashi vrat should be kept. Brahma, as it is told in the Skand Puran, gave him the whole routine of the day.

Brahma told him to rise early, bathe, do the daily puja and take the Sankalp of the vrat. After that, he said, the devotee should turn away from the pleasures of the world through the whole day and repeat the Lord's name (Jap).

The vow is taken in these words: "O Bhagwan, I am commencing this vrat. Please give me strength to control my senses."

In the evening, Brahma said, the devotee should bathe once more and do the puja, and give to the poor. Last of all, he told Narada, the devotee should offer at the Lord's feet the niyams kept through the past four months.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before the Hatadi offering:

• Hatadi: Fresh raw vegetables, and cane baskets to arrange them in before the Lord

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Morning Preparation and Sankalp

1. Wake up early, bathe, and do your daily puja.
2. Take the Sankalp (solemn vow) of the vrat: "O Bhagwan, I am commencing this vrat. Please give me strength to control my senses."
3. Keep the Nirjala fast (without food or water) for the whole day.

Step 2: Keeping the Day in Remembrance

1. Keep away from the pleasures of the world through the whole day.
2. Repeat the Lord's name (Jap) through the day.

Step 3: Evening Bath and Puja

1. Bathe again in the evening.
2. Do the puja before the Lord.
3. Give to the poor.

Step 4: The Hatadi Offering

1. At the mandir, arrange fresh raw vegetables in cane baskets before the Lord, much as the Annakut is laid out.
2. Offer this Hatadi with devotion.

Step 5: Offering the Four Months' Niyams

1. Offer at the Lord's feet the niyams you kept through the past four months of Chaturmas.
2. With this offering the niyams of Chaturmas come to an end.