Dev Uthani Ekadashi 2026 (Prabodhini Ekadashi)

Dates for New Delhi from the Purnimanta calendar; a few festivals can fall a day apart in other regions. Page updated 20 October 2026.

The story

1. 1

   Wake early, bathe and wear clean clothes. Clean the home and the puja area, and the Tulsi plant's surroundings if you have one.

2. 2

   Make a resolve (sankalp) before Vishnu to keep the Ekadashi fast in the way that suits your health, and spend the day in prayer, reading or chanting.

3. 3

   Set up the puja area with a picture or idol of Vishnu or Krishna, or a Shaligram if your family worships one, on a clean cloth on a raised seat.

4. 4

   If it is your family custom, draw Vishnu's feet or a simple figure on the floor with rice paste and geru, and arrange sugarcane, singhara, sweet potato, seasonal fruits and a lamp around it.

5. 5

   In the evening, within the time shown above as Vishnu awakening puja: Pradosh, bathe the deity or sprinkle water, then offer sandalwood paste, flowers, Tulsi leaves, a yellow cloth, incense and a ghee lamp.

6. 6

   Wake the deity: ring bells, blow a conch if you have one, beat a plate gently and sing awakening songs or recite the verse 'Uttishtha Govinda...' given below.

7. 7

   If your family follows the basket custom, lift the covering basket or sieve at this point, as a sign that the gods have risen.

8. 8

   Offer naivedya of fruits, sugarcane, makhana, milk sweets or other fasting foods, always with a Tulsi leaf, since Vishnu is traditionally offered food with Tulsi.

9. 9

   Read or listen to the Prabodhini Ekadashi katha or the Vishnu Sahasranama, and perform aarti together as a family.

10. 10

    If you celebrate Tulsi Vivah today, perform it after the Vishnu puja; otherwise prepare for it on Dwadashi as per your family custom.

11. 11

    Spend some time in bhajan or quiet prayer before sleep; some devotees keep a night vigil (jagran).

12. 12

    Next morning, bathe, offer a short prayer to Vishnu, and break the fast in the window shown above as Parana (break the fast).

• Picture or idol of Vishnu or Krishna, or a Shaligram
• Clean yellow or red cloth for the seat
• Tulsi leaves (picked the previous day, as many families avoid plucking Tulsi on Ekadashi)
• Sugarcane stalks
• Water chestnut (singhara), sweet potato and seasonal fruits such as ber and bananas
• Rice paste and red ochre (geru) for drawing Vishnu's feet (optional, as per custom)
• A basket or sieve to cover the drawing (optional, as per custom)
• Ghee lamp (diya), cotton wicks and camphor
• Incense sticks (agarbatti)
• Sandalwood paste (chandan), roli and akshat
• Yellow flowers and a small garland
• Bell, and a conch (shankh) if available
• Panchamrit (milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar) for bathing the deity
• Naivedya of makhana, fruits, milk sweets or other fasting foods
• Copper or brass lota of clean water
• Ekadashi katha book or Vishnu Sahasranama

• The Ekadashi fast is optional and personal. It may be kept by anyone, man or woman, who wishes to observe it, and there is no single correct way to do so.
• The fast traditionally runs from sunrise on Ekadashi until Parana the next morning. The Ekadashi tithi shown above is the lunar day itself; the fasting day is decided by the tithi at sunrise.
• Grains and pulses are avoided, especially rice, wheat and lentils. Many devotees eat fruit, milk, nuts, makhana, sabudana, potatoes and singhara or kuttu flour once or twice in the day, while some keep a fast on water alone or without water (nirjala); follow your family custom and your health.
• Parana is done on Dwadashi, the next day, after the time shown above as Hari Vasara ends (the first quarter of Dwadashi, during which the fast is traditionally not broken) and before Dwadashi ends. The Parana (break the fast) window shown above gives this for your city.
• Break the fast after a short prayer, traditionally with Tulsi water or the prasad offered to Vishnu, followed by a simple sattvic meal. Many families eat rice again at this meal.
• Smarta and Vaishnava traditions follow slightly different rules for which day to fast when Ekadashi overlaps two sunrises, so the two may keep Ekadashi on different days. Follow the day kept by your family or sampradaya.
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women, older people, children, and anyone with diabetes, low blood pressure or another health condition should adapt the fast, for example by eating fruit and milk, or skip it, and consult a doctor first. This is general guidance, not medical advice, and an adapted fast kept with sincerity is fully in the spirit of Ekadashi.