Vrat · Vishnu

Devshayani Ekadashi

The day Lord Vishnu lies down to sleep on Shesha and Chaturmas begins; the warkaris reach Pandharpur on this Ashadhi Ekadashi.

Devshayani Ekadashi 2027: Wednesday 14 July 2027; New Delhi

City

For New Delhi, Wednesday 14 July 2027

Shukla Ekadashi tithi

Begins: 12:09 pm, 13 July
Ends: 1:11 pm

Sunrise: 5:33 am
Sunset: 7:21 pm
Moonrise: 4:08 pm
Moonset: 2:15 am, 15 July

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

Puja times

For New Delhi, Wednesday 14 July 2027

Parana (breaking the fast), 15 Jul

5:33 am to 8:19 am

Hari Vasara ends: 7:33 pm, 14 July
Dwadashi ends: 2:41 pm
Ekadashi begins: 12:09 pm, 13 July
Ekadashi ends: 1:11 pm

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

Fast without grains or beans
Begin a vow for the four months of Chaturmas
Break the fast tomorrow in the parana time

What it remembers

Devshayani Ekadashi, the Ekadashi of the god’s sleep, is the bright eleventh day of Ashadha, in June or July. On this day Lord Vishnu lies down on the serpent Shesha in the ocean of milk and sleeps for four months, until Dev Uthani Ekadashi in Kartika. The four months of the rains, Chaturmas, begin, and with them many vows. In Maharashtra it is Ashadhi Ekadashi, when the long walk of the warkaris ends at Vitthal’s temple in Pandharpur. The fast is broken the next morning in the parana time.

Vishnu lies down

The Puranas tell that on the bright Ekadashi of Ashadha, Lord Vishnu lies down on Shesha, the great serpent, in the ocean of milk, and falls asleep. He sleeps through the four months of the rains, Chaturmas, and wakes on the bright Ekadashi of Kartika, Dev Uthani or Prabodhini Ekadashi. While he sleeps, weddings, housewarmings and other great beginnings are put off, and many take vows for the four months: to give up a favourite food, or to fast on every Ekadashi.

Mandhata and the drought

The Bhavishyottara Purana tells the glories of the day as Lord Krishna told them to Yudhishthira, and as Lord Brahma once told them to his son Narada. King Mandhata of the solar line was a just king, and his people prospered, until the rains failed three years together and they came to him for help. Mandhata searched his own conduct and found no fault in it, so he rode into the forest to seek the counsel of the sages.

The sage Angiras

In the forest he came to the hermitage of the sage Angiras, a son of Lord Brahma, and told him of the drought. Angiras told him to keep the fast of the bright Ekadashi of Ashadha, the Padma or Devshayani Ekadashi, with all his people. The king went home and did so, and by Lord Vishnu’s grace the rains came, and the fields gave a full harvest once more.

The walk to Pandharpur

For more than seven hundred years, the warkaris of Maharashtra have walked to Pandharpur for this day. The palkhis of the saints set out from their shrines, Sant Dnyaneshwar’s from Alandi and Sant Tukaram’s from Dehu, near Pune, and lakhs walk with them, about 250 km over some three weeks, singing the abhangs of the saints. On Ashadhi Ekadashi they reach Pandharpur, bathe in the Chandrabhaga and come before Vitthal, Lord Vishnu as Vithoba.

Keeping Devshayani Ekadashi

The fast runs from sunrise to the parana the next morning, and Chaturmas begins. Families keep it in many ways, strictly or simply; follow your own tradition where it differs.

On Dashami, the day before, eat one simple meal before sunset, and pick the tulsi leaves you will need: tulsi is not plucked on Ekadashi.
Bathe early and take the vow (sankalpa) to fast. Keep it without grains or beans, on fruit and milk, or without water, as your health allows.
Worship Lord Vishnu with tulsi leaves, yellow flowers, a lamp and incense.
If you will keep a vow through Chaturmas, take it today: a food given up, or a fast on every Ekadashi, until Dev Uthani Ekadashi.
Read or hear the story of King Mandhata, and chant Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya or read the Vishnu Sahasranama.
Many keep awake in the night with kirtan (jagaran), and sing Om Jai Jagdish Hare, or the abhangs of Vitthal.
On Dwadashi, break the fast in the parana time shown on this page, starting with tulsi water, then a simple meal.

What you need

Tulsi leaves, picked the day before
Fruit, milk and the foods allowed in the fast (sabudana, kuttu, singhara, potato)
Yellow flowers, a lamp and incense
The Devshayani Ekadashi story, or the Vishnu Sahasranama

Across India

Pandharpur, Maharashtra

Ashadhi Ekadashi: the palkhis of Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram arrive after some three weeks on the road, and lakhs of warkaris come to Vitthal. The chief minister of Maharashtra performs the official puja with a warkari couple chosen for it.

North India

Chaturmas begins, and weddings and housewarmings are put off until Dev Uthani Ekadashi, four months on.

South India

The day is also called Toli Ekadashi, and opens the season of Chaturmas.

Vaishnava and ISKCON tradition

Kept as Shayana or Padma Ekadashi by the Vaishnava rule, which can move the fast a day later when Dashami touches Ekadashi’s dawn, and the Chaturmasya vows begin.

When it falls

Shukla Ekadashi of Ashadha. Kept on the day of the Ekadashi fast (the Smarta day).

These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.

Devshayani Ekadashi in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

2027Wednesday 14 July 2027
2028Sunday 2 July 2028

Questions

When is Devshayani Ekadashi in 2027?

Wednesday 14 July 2027, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.

When does Devshayani Ekadashi fall?

Shukla Ekadashi of Ashadha. Kept on the day of the Ekadashi fast (the Smarta day).

How is Devshayani Ekadashi kept?

Families fast without grains or beans, begin a vow for the four months of Chaturmas and break the fast tomorrow in the parana time. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Devshayani Ekadashi?

Vishnu. The day Lord Vishnu lies down to sleep on Shesha and Chaturmas begins; the warkaris reach Pandharpur on this Ashadhi Ekadashi.

Are Devshayani, Ashadhi and Padma Ekadashi the same?

Yes. All are names for the bright Ekadashi of Ashadha: Devshayani or Hari Shayani, the god’s sleep; Ashadhi, of Ashadha, as Maharashtra calls it; Padma; and Toli Ekadashi in the south.

Why does Lord Vishnu sleep for four months?

The Puranas tell that he lies down on Shesha in the ocean of milk on this day and sleeps through the four months of the rains, Chaturmas. He wakes on Dev Uthani Ekadashi in Kartika, and the world’s great beginnings start again.

What is Chaturmas?

The four months (chatur-masa) from Devshayani Ekadashi to Dev Uthani Ekadashi, through the rains, while Lord Vishnu sleeps. Weddings and housewarmings are not held, and many keep vows for the season, giving up a food or fasting on every Ekadashi.

What is the Ashadhi wari to Pandharpur?

The walk of the warkaris, devotees of Vitthal, to his temple at Pandharpur. The palkhis of Sant Dnyaneshwar from Alandi and Sant Tukaram from Dehu set out about three weeks before, and the walkers cover some 250 km, singing, to reach Pandharpur on Ashadhi Ekadashi.

What is the story of Devshayani Ekadashi?

King Mandhata’s kingdom had no rain for three years. The sage Angiras told him to keep the fast of the bright Ekadashi of Ashadha with his people. He did, and by Lord Vishnu’s grace the rains came and the harvest was full again.

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