01What Amalaki Ekadashi is
Amalaki Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Phalguna, kept in late February or in March, a few days before Holi. Amalaki is the amla tree, the Indian gooseberry, and the tradition holds that Vishnu dwells in it, so the tree itself is worshipped on the day. In Varanasi the same day is Rangbhari Ekadashi, when the tradition says Shiva brought Parvati to Kashi after their wedding, and the colours of Holi begin at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The account is told by Krishna to Yudhishthira.
It is the Phalguna Shukla Ekadashi in both ways of naming the lunar months.
02The story told of it
The account tells of King Chitraratha of Vaidisha, in whose kingdom everyone kept Ekadashi. On this Ekadashi the king and his people gathered beneath an amla tree by the river, worshipped it and kept vigil through the night. A hunter, hungry and without a catch, came upon them and stayed to watch, eating nothing and hearing the account recited until dawn. The account says this one night of unplanned fasting and listening led to his birth as King Vasuratha, a ruler of great virtue.
03How the fast is kept
The amla tree is the centre of the day. Families bathe it, wind a thread around its trunk, offer water, flowers, sandal paste and a lamp at its root, and walk around it, and many sit beneath it to hear the day's account. Where there is no tree, an amla fruit or a branch is worshipped in its place. The fruit is offered to Vishnu and given in charity, and is eaten on Dwadashi. The fast runs from sunrise to the next day's parana.
What is eaten on the fast
Commonly eaten- Fruit
- Milk, curd and paneer
- Nuts and dry fruit
- Sabudana
- Kuttu and singhara flour
- Potato and sweet potato
- Sendha namak (rock salt)
Commonly left out- Rice
- Wheat and other grains
- Dal and beans
- Onion and garlic
- Ordinary salt, in many homes
Families choose the strictness that suits them. Anyone who is unwell, pregnant or elderly keeps a lighter form.
04When to break the fast
The fast is broken on the morning after, the Dwadashi, and the tradition sets three limits on when. It must be after sunrise. It must not fall in Hari Vasara, the first quarter of Dwadashi. And it must be inside Dwadashi itself, ideally in Pratahkal, the first fifth of the daylight, and not in Madhyahna, the middle fifth. This time Hari Vasara ends at 7:13 AM on 19 March, before sunrise, so parana runs from sunrise at 7:13 AM to the end of Pratahkal at 8:07 AM on 19 March.
- Sunrise5:42 AM on 19 Mar
- Hari Vasara ends7:13 AM on 19 March
- Parana window7:13 – 8:07 AM
- Dwadashi ends11:18 PM on 19 March
05Why two dates: 18 or 19 March
- In Kolkata: It is kept on 18 March because the Ekadashi tithi is current at sunrise that morning (5:43 AM).
- Vaishnava calendars, ISKCON's among them, judge the day from arunodaya, 96 minutes before sunrise, and keep an Ekadashi only on a day it has reached by then. This time that day is 19 March, with parana on 20 March from 5:41 AM to 9:43 AM.
Two things move an Ekadashi. The first is your city: the day is decided by sunrise, so change the city above to see yours. The second is the tradition, and this time the two differ: Smarta calendars keep 18 March and Vaishnava calendars keep 19 March. Both are given on this page with their own parana. Keep the one your family or your temple follows.
06Amalaki Ekadashi in other years
- 2026Friday, 27 February · parana 5:59 – 8:19 AM
- 2027Thursday, 18 March · parana 7:13 – 8:07 AM
- 2028Tuesday, 7 March · parana 5:52 – 8:14 AM
