01What Parsva Ekadashi is
Parsva Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Bhadrapada, kept in late August or in September, a few days after Ganesh Chaturthi. Parsva means side: the tradition holds that on this day the sleeping Vishnu turns from one side to the other, halfway through the four months of Chaturmas. That is why it is also called Parivartini Ekadashi, the Ekadashi of the turning. Its third name, Vamana Ekadashi, comes from the account told of it, and Vamana is the form of Vishnu worshipped on the day.
It is the Bhadrapada Shukla Ekadashi in both ways of naming the lunar months.
02The story told of it
Krishna tells Yudhishthira the account of Bali, the asura king whose generosity and power had made him master of the three worlds. Vishnu came to his sacrifice as Vamana, a small brahmin boy, and asked for only as much land as he could cover in three steps. Bali agreed. Vamana grew until two strides covered earth and sky, and Bali offered his own head for the third. Pleased by his faithfulness, Vishnu gave him the lower realm to rule and promised to remain near him, and the account ties the day to that promise.
03How the fast is kept
The fast is the ordinary one, from sunrise to the next day's parana, with Vishnu worshipped as Vamana. Some temples mark the turning by moving the sleeping image of Vishnu onto its other side. In parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh the day is Jaljhulani Ekadashi or Dol Gyaras: temple images of Krishna are carried in decorated palanquins to a river or tank and rocked on the water, with processions and music. Curd and rice offerings to Vamana are customary in some regions, given in charity rather than eaten on the fast.
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 02:16 on 12 September, before sunrise, so parana runs from sunrise at 06:04 to the end of Pratahkal at 08:34 on 12 September.
- Sunrise06:04 on 12 Sep
- Hari Vasara ends02:16 on 12 September
- Parana window06:04 – 08:34
- Dwadashi ends22:13 on 12 September
05Why this day, and why dates differ
It is kept on 11 September because the Ekadashi tithi is current at sunrise that morning (06:04).
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.
06Parsva Ekadashi in other years
- 2026Tuesday, 22 September · parana 06:10 to 08:35
- 2027Saturday, 11 September · parana 06:04 to 08:34
- 2028Wednesday, 30 August · parana 05:59 to 08:32
