01What Pausha Putrada Ekadashi is
Pausha Putrada Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Pausha, kept in late December or in January, in the depth of winter. Putrada means giver of a son, and as with its namesake in Shravana, the tradition dedicates the day to the welfare of children and of the family. It is one of two Putrada Ekadashis in the year. The account is told by Krishna to Yudhishthira, and the day is kept widely in North India, where its winter date gives it a quiet, domestic character.
It is the Pausha Shukla Ekadashi in both ways of naming the lunar months.
02The story told of it
The account tells of King Suketuman of Bhadravati and his queen Shaibya, who were troubled about the future of their house. The king rode into the forest alone, and there, by a lake, he came upon a gathering of sages who had come to bathe at the turn of the season. He bowed to them and told them his concern. They told him of the Ekadashi of Pausha's bright half and its name. Suketuman kept it with them and returned to keep it with his queen, and the account says their house was blessed.
03How the fast is kept
The fast is the ordinary one, from sunrise to the next day's parana, often kept by both parents with a sankalpa for the children of the house, and with worship of Vishnu and of Krishna as a child. In many South Indian temples, the Shukla Ekadashi in the solar month of Dhanu, Margazhi in Tamil, is Vaikuntha Ekadashi, when the northern gate, Vaikuntha Dvara, is opened at dawn and devotees pass through it; depending on the year, that Ekadashi is Pausha Putrada or Mokshada.
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 13:03 on 19 January, past the end of Pratahkal, and Madhyahna is avoided, so parana moves to the afternoon: from 13:35 to 15:42 on 19 January.
- Sunrise07:14 on 19 Jan
- Hari Vasara ends13:03 on 19 January
- Parana window13:35 – 15:42
- Dwadashi ends04:42 on 20 January
05Why this day, and why dates differ
This year the Dwadashi after it ends before the following sunrise, so a fast kept on the later day could not be broken within Dwadashi. The fast therefore moves a day earlier, to 18 January. Vaishnava calendars keep the later day.
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.
06Pausha Putrada Ekadashi in other years
- 2027Monday, 18 January · parana 13:35 to 15:42
- 2028Saturday, 8 January · parana 07:15 to 09:20
- 2028Wednesday, 27 December · parana 07:13 to 09:17
