Festival · Vishnu

Vaikuntha Ekadashi

The Ekadashi in the Tamil month of Margazhi, when the northern gate of Lord Vishnu’s temples, the Vaikuntha Dwaram, is opened at dawn. Passing through it is held to open the way to Vaikuntha; Srirangam and Tirumala draw the largest crowds.

Vaikuntha Ekadashi 2026: Sunday 20 December 2026; New Delhi

City

For New Delhi, Sunday 20 December 2026

Shukla Ekadashi tithi

Begins: 10:10 pm, 19 Dec
Ends: 8:15 pm

Sunrise: 7:09 am
Sunset: 5:28 pm
Moonrise: 2:00 pm
Moonset: 3:52 am, 21 Dec

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

Full panchang for this day →

Puja times

For New Delhi, Sunday 20 December 2026

Parana (breaking the fast), 21 Dec

7:09 am to 9:13 am

Hari Vasara ends: 1:35 am
Dwadashi ends: 5:37 pm
Ekadashi begins: 10:10 pm, 19 Dec
Ekadashi ends: 8:15 pm

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

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

Keep the Ekadashi fast and stay awake through the night
Pass through the Vaikuntha Dwaram at a Vishnu temple
Break the fast tomorrow in the parana time

Venkateswara of Tirumala →

What it remembers

Vaikuntha Ekadashi is the bright Ekadashi of the Tamil month of Margazhi, the solar month when the Sun is in Dhanu. On this day, it is said, the gates of Vaikuntha, Lord Vishnu’s heaven, stand open. Vishnu temples, above all in the south, open a northern door kept shut the rest of the year, the Vaikuntha Dwaram, called Paramapada Vasal in Tamil, and devotees pass through it at dawn. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana it is Mukkoti Ekadashi. Those who keep it fast through the day, many stay awake through the night, and they break the fast the next morning in the parana time. Because it is set by the Sun as well as the moon, most years have one, some have two and some none.

The demon Mura and the maiden Ekadashi

The Padma Purana tells that the demon Mura drove the gods from heaven, and Lord Vishnu fought him for a long time. Weary, Vishnu went to rest in a cave at Badrikashrama, and Mura followed to kill him as he slept. A maiden sprang from Vishnu’s body and destroyed the demon. Vishnu named her Ekadashi and granted that those who fast on her day would be freed from sin. In the north this story is told for Utpanna Ekadashi; in the south it is often told for Vaikuntha Ekadashi.

The gate opened for two asuras

Another telling says that Lord Vishnu opened the gate of Vaikuntha for two asuras who had been his enemies. They asked that whoever saw his image come out through that gate on this day, or heard their story, should reach Vaikuntha too. So the temples build a gate and bring the god out through it, and devotees follow.

Ambarisha and the sage

King Ambarisha, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, kept every Ekadashi. Once, at the end of his fast, the sage Durvasa came as his guest, went to bathe and did not return, and the time to break the fast was running out. On the advice of the learned, the king broke it with a sip of water. Durvasa, furious that he had eaten first, sent a demon after him, but Vishnu’s discus, the Sudarshana Chakra, destroyed it and chased the sage until he begged the king himself for pardon. The story is told to show the worth of the fast, and of the parana kept on time.

Twenty days of song at Srirangam

At Srirangam the day sits at the heart of a festival of about three weeks: ten days before, Pagal Pathu, and ten after, Ra Pathu. Through it the Araiyars sing the hymns of the Alvars, the Divya Prabandham, with Nammalvar’s Tiruvaymoli at its centre, before the processional image of Ranganatha, Namperumal. Before dawn on the Ekadashi he comes out through the Paramapada Vasal and holds court in the thousand-pillared hall.

Keeping Vaikuntha Ekadashi

The fast runs from sunrise to the parana the next morning, and many keep watch through the night. Families keep it in many ways; 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.
Rise before dawn, bathe, and take the vow (sankalpa) to fast. Keep it without rice and other grains or beans, on fruit and milk, or without water, as your health allows.
Go early to a Vishnu temple to pass through the northern gate, or light a lamp before Lord Vishnu at home.
Worship Lord Vishnu with tulsi leaves and flowers, and chant Om Namo Narayanaya or read the Vishnu Sahasranama.
Spend the day in prayer, and keep the night awake if you can, with bhajans, the stories of Lord Vishnu and readings from the Gita.
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
Flowers and a lamp
Fruit and milk for the fast
The Vishnu Sahasranama or the Gita to read from

Across India

Srirangam, Tamil Nadu

The Ranganathaswamy temple’s great festival of song, about three weeks long, with the Paramapada Vasal opened before dawn on the Ekadashi. Crowds gather from the small hours to pass through it after Namperumal.

Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh

The Vaikuntha Dwaram of the Venkateswara temple is opened for darshan from the Ekadashi. In recent years it has been kept open for ten days, but the number has changed before, and darshan needs a token: check the TTD’s announcements for the year.

Bhadrachalam, Telangana

Mukkoti Ekadashi closes the temple’s Adhyayanotsavam, and devotees have Uttara Dwara darshan, a sight of Lord Rama through the northern door.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Mukkoti Ekadashi, the Ekadashi of three crore: it is said that the three crore gods gather to worship Lord Vishnu today. Vishnu temples open their northern doors, and many families fast and keep the night awake.

Tamil Nadu

Perumal temples across the state open their Sorga Vasal, the gate of heaven, in the early morning, as at the Madhava Perumal temple in Mylapore, and devotees fast and stay awake with the stories of Lord Vishnu.

When it falls

The Shukla Ekadashi that falls while the Sun is in Dhanu (Sagittarius), the Tamil month of Margazhi, kept on the day of the Ekadashi fast. Most years have one; a few have two, and a few none.

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

Vaikuntha Ekadashi in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

2026Sunday 20 December 2026
2028Saturday 8 January 2028
2028Wednesday 27 December 2028

Questions

When is Vaikuntha Ekadashi in 2026?

Sunday 20 December 2026, 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 Vaikuntha Ekadashi fall?

The Shukla Ekadashi that falls while the Sun is in Dhanu (Sagittarius), the Tamil month of Margazhi, kept on the day of the Ekadashi fast. Most years have one; a few have two, and a few none. It comes in December or January.

How is Vaikuntha Ekadashi kept?

Families keep the Ekadashi fast and stay awake through the night, pass through the Vaikuntha Dwaram at a Vishnu temple and break the fast tomorrow in the parana time. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Vaikuntha Ekadashi?

Vishnu. The Ekadashi in the Tamil month of Margazhi, when the northern gate of Lord Vishnu’s temples, the Vaikuntha Dwaram, is opened at dawn. Passing through it is held to open the way to Vaikuntha; Srirangam and Tirumala draw the largest crowds.

What is the Vaikuntha Dwaram?

A northern door of a Vishnu temple, opened only on Vaikuntha Ekadashi (at Tirumala, for some days from it). It stands for the gate of Vaikuntha, Lord Vishnu’s heaven, and passing through it is held to bring the devotee closer to liberation. In Tamil it is the Paramapada Vasal or Sorga Vasal; in Telugu, the Uttara Dwaram.

Why are there two Vaikuntha Ekadashis in some years, and none in others?

It is the bright Ekadashi kept while the Sun is in Dhanu, from about mid December to mid January. A calendar year can catch one at its start, in January, and another at its end, in December, or miss both. There is none in 2027, for example, and two in 2028, on 8 January and 27 December.

Is Vaikuntha Ekadashi the same as Mokshada Ekadashi?

Sometimes. Vaikuntha Ekadashi is set by the Sun, so it falls on the bright Ekadashi of Margashirsha (Mokshada Ekadashi, Gita Jayanti) in some years and on the bright Ekadashi of Pausha (Putrada Ekadashi) in others. In 2026 it is the same day as Mokshada Ekadashi and Gita Jayanti.

Why is it called Mukkoti Ekadashi?

Mukkoti means three crore in Telugu. It is said that the three crore gods gather to worship Lord Vishnu on this day. Other explanations are given too, such as that worship today counts three crore times over.

Is the Vaikuntha Ekadashi fast worth all the Ekadashis of the year?

Many hold so: a saying ascribed to the Vishnu Purana counts the fast of this one day as equal to fasting on the other twenty-three Ekadashis of the year.

All festivals and vrats →