01What Kamika Ekadashi is
Kamika Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the dark half of Ashadha in the amanta calendar, which purnimanta calendars place in Shravana. It is kept in July or early August, in the full monsoon, and it is the first Ekadashi after Devshayani, so the first one kept while Vishnu sleeps. Like Kamada, its name is drawn from kama, what is wished for. The tradition's account of it is less a story than a teaching, and what it teaches about is the worship of Tulsi and the offering of a lamp.
Calendars that end the month at the new moon (amanta, used in the south and west) name it the Krishna Ekadashi of Ashadha; those that end it at the full moon (purnimanta, used in the north) name it the Krishna Ekadashi of Shravana. It is the same day.
02The story told of it
Krishna tells Yudhishthira that the account was first given by Brahma to Narada, when Narada asked which Ekadashi of the rainy season should be kept and how. Brahma's answer praises the day at length and turns to Tulsi: the plant is described as so dear to Vishnu that a single leaf offered with devotion is counted above offerings of gold and jewels, and that even to see it, touch it or water it is held to be worship. The account adds equal praise for keeping a ghee or sesame oil lamp burning before Vishnu on the night of the Ekadashi.
03How the fast is kept
The fast is the ordinary one, from sunrise to the next day's parana, with grains and beans left out even in the lighter forms. What is particular to Kamika is Tulsi and the lamp. Vishnu is worshipped with Tulsi leaves, gathered the day before, since the tradition does not pluck Tulsi on an Ekadashi. Many families water and circle the Tulsi plant, and keep a lamp lit before Vishnu into the night. Because the day falls in the first weeks of Chaturmas, it is often kept with the vows taken at Devshayani.
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 lasts until 10:30 on 30 July, past the end of Pratahkal, and Madhyahna is avoided, so parana moves to the afternoon: from 13:49 to 16:31 on 30 July.
- Sunrise05:41 on 30 Jul
- Hari Vasara ends10:30 on 30 July
- Parana window13:49 – 16:31
- Dwadashi ends02:19 on 31 July
05Why this day, and why dates differ
This year the Ekadashi tithi begins after one sunrise and ends before the next, so it touches no sunrise at all. Such a tithi is kept on the day it begins, 29 July.
Two things move an Ekadashi. The first is your city: the day is decided by sunrise, and sunrise in India differs by more than an hour from Kolkata to Ahmedabad, so a city can keep an Ekadashi a day apart from another when the tithi changes near dawn. Change the city above to see yours. The second is the tradition: the dates here are the Smarta ones most households follow. Vaishnava calendars, ISKCON's among them, judge the day from arunodaya, about an hour and a half before sunrise, and sometimes keep the fast a day later.
06Kamika Ekadashi in other years
- 2026Sunday, 9 August · parana 05:48 to 08:01
- 2027Thursday, 29 July · parana 13:49 to 16:31
- 2028Tuesday, 18 July · parana 05:36 to 08:20
