Vrat · Vishnu

Nirjala Ekadashi

The fast without water, kept by Bhima on Vyasa’s word for the merit of all twenty-four Ekadashis. Those who are ill, elderly or pregnant keep it with fruit and milk instead.

Nirjala Ekadashi 2027
Monday 14 June 2027
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Monday 14 June 2027

Shukla Ekadashi tithi

Begins
2:13 am
Ends
2:08 am, 15 June
Sunrise
5:23 am
Sunset
7:20 pm
Moonrise
3:15 pm
Moonset
2:10 am, 15 June

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

Full panchang for this day →

Puja times

For New Delhi, Monday 14 June 2027

Parana (breaking the fast), 15 Jun

1:45 pm to 4:33 pm

Hari Vasara ends
8:14 am
Dwadashi ends
2:31 am, 16 June
Ekadashi begins
2:13 am
Ekadashi ends
2:08 am, 15 June

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 food or water, if your health allows
  • Give water, pots and fans in charity
  • Break the fast tomorrow in the parana time

What it remembers

Nirjala Ekadashi, the Ekadashi without water (nirjala), is the bright eleventh day of Jyeshtha, in May or June, at the height of summer. It is the strictest fast of the year, kept without food or even water from one sunrise to the next, and it is held to give the merit of all twenty-four Ekadashis. It is also called Bhimseni Ekadashi, after Bhima, who kept this one fast because he could keep no other. Keep it without water only if your health allows. The fast is broken the next morning in the parana time.

Bhima’s hunger

The Brahmavaivarta Purana tells this story. Bhima, the second of the Pandavas and the strongest of them, loved his food, and hunger was the one thing he could not master. His brothers and Draupadi kept every Ekadashi, but Bhima could not go a single day without eating. Troubled, he went to his grandfather, the sage Vyasa. I can give to the poor and worship Lord Vishnu, he said, but I cannot fast. Is there no way for me to gain the merit of the Ekadashis?

One fast for twenty-four

Vyasa told him there was one. Keep a single fast, he said, on the bright Ekadashi of Jyeshtha, and keep it fully: without food, and without even water, from sunrise until sunrise on the next day. Sip no more than the few drops taken in the rite of achamana. Keep that one fast in faith, and it will give you the merit of all twenty-four Ekadashis of the year. Bhima kept it, and so the day is called Bhimseni Ekadashi, and Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi.

The gift of water

The messengers of Yama, Vyasa said, do not come for one who keeps this fast; the messengers of Lord Vishnu carry them to his abode instead. And since the fast falls in the fierce heat of Jyeshtha, the gift of the day is water. Those who keep it give pots of cool water, fans, umbrellas and shoes to those in need, as they can afford, on the day or on Dwadashi.

Keeping Nirjala Ekadashi

The fast runs from the sunrise of Ekadashi to the sunrise of Dwadashi, and the parana follows. It is the hardest fast of the year, so keep it with care. Those who are ill, the elderly and pregnant women should not keep it without water: they can take fruit and milk, and keep the day with worship, chanting and giving. If you are unsure, ask your doctor first.

  1. On Dashami, the day before, eat one simple meal, and drink well. Pick the tulsi leaves you will need: tulsi is not plucked on Ekadashi.
  2. Bathe early and take the vow (sankalpa) to fast. Keep it without food or water if your health allows; if not, keep it on fruit and milk, as an ordinary Ekadashi.
  3. Take no water through the day but the few drops sipped in achamana, and keep out of the sun and heat.
  4. Worship Lord Vishnu with tulsi leaves, flowers, a lamp and incense, and chant Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya or read the Vishnu Sahasranama.
  5. Give water to the thirsty, and pots of water, fans, umbrellas or shoes to those in need, as you can afford.
  6. Many keep awake in the night with kirtan (jagaran), and sing Om Jai Jagdish Hare.
  7. On Dwadashi, after sunrise, break the fast in the parana time shown on this page, starting with water and tulsi, then a simple meal. If you feel faint or unwell at any time, drink water: your health comes first.

What you need

  • Tulsi leaves, picked the day before
  • Earthen pots of water, hand fans and umbrellas to give
  • Flowers, a lamp and incense
  • Fruit and milk, for those who cannot keep it without water
  • The story of Bhima, or the Vishnu Sahasranama

Across India

Across India

The bright Ekadashi of Jyeshtha has the same name in the northern and the southern calendars, so it is Nirjala Ekadashi everywhere, kept in the hottest weeks of the year.

Homes and temples

Water is the gift of the day: earthen pots of cool water, sherbet and seasonal fruit are given out, with fans and umbrellas.

Vaishnava and ISKCON tradition

Kept as Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi by the Vaishnava rule, which can move the fast a day later when Dashami touches Ekadashi’s dawn, with the story of Bhima told in temples.

When it falls

Shukla Ekadashi of Jyeshtha. 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.

Nirjala Ekadashi in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2027Monday 14 June 2027
  2. 2028Saturday 3 June 2028

Questions

When is Nirjala Ekadashi in 2027?

Monday 14 June 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 Nirjala Ekadashi fall?

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

How is Nirjala Ekadashi kept?

Families fast without food or water, if your health allows, give water, pots and fans in charity and break the fast tomorrow in the parana time. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Nirjala Ekadashi?

Vishnu. The fast without water, kept by Bhima on Vyasa’s word for the merit of all twenty-four Ekadashis. Those who are ill, elderly or pregnant keep it with fruit and milk instead.

What is the story of Nirjala Ekadashi?

Bhima could not bear hunger, and could not keep the Ekadashi fasts as his brothers did. The sage Vyasa told him to keep just one, the bright Ekadashi of Jyeshtha, without food or even water, and it would give him the merit of all twenty-four. So the day is also called Bhimseni Ekadashi.

Can I drink water on Nirjala Ekadashi?

Those who keep it fully take no water from sunrise to sunrise, except the few drops sipped in achamana. But keep it without water only if your health allows. If you cannot, keep it on fruit, milk and water as an ordinary Ekadashi, and drink water at once if you feel unwell.

Who should not keep the waterless fast?

Those who are ill, the elderly and pregnant women should not keep it without water. They can take fruit and milk, and still keep the day with worship, chanting and giving. If you take medicines or have a health condition, ask your doctor first.

Does Nirjala Ekadashi give the merit of all Ekadashis?

So Vyasa told Bhima: kept fully and in faith, this one fast gives the merit of all twenty-four Ekadashis of the year.

What is given in charity on Nirjala Ekadashi?

Water above all, since it falls in the summer heat: earthen pots of water, with hand fans, umbrellas, shoes and fruit, given to those in need as you can afford.

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