01What Shravana Putrada Ekadashi is
Shravana Putrada Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Shravana, kept in late July or in August, in the middle of the monsoon and a few days before Raksha Bandhan. Putrada means giver of a son, and the tradition dedicates the day to the welfare of children and of the family as a whole. There are two Putrada Ekadashis in the year, this one and Pausha Putrada in winter; this one is also called Pavitra Ekadashi, the pure or purifying Ekadashi.
It is the Shravana Shukla Ekadashi in both ways of naming the lunar months.
02The story told of it
Krishna tells Yudhishthira of King Mahijit of Mahishmati, a ruler who cared for his people as for his own household. His ministers and subjects, wishing to repay that care, went together into the forest to ask the sage Lomasha what they might do for the king's family. Lomasha told them of the Ekadashi of Shravana's bright half, and asked that the king, the queen and the people all keep it and offer its merit to the royal house. They did so, and the account ends with the kingdom rejoicing in the blessing that followed.
03How the fast is kept
The fast is the ordinary one, from sunrise to the next day's parana, and it is often kept by both parents together, with a sankalpa for the children of the house. Vishnu is worshipped in the morning, and many families also worship Bala Gopala, Krishna as a child. In the Pushti Marg of Vallabhacharya the day is Pavitra Ekadashi: the tradition holds that Vallabhacharya received the Brahmasambandha mantra on this night, and threads of silk called pavitra are offered to Krishna in its temples.
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 lasts until 9:35 AM on 13 August, past the end of Pratahkal, and Madhyahna is avoided, so parana moves to the afternoon: from 1:40 PM to 4:11 PM on 13 August.
- Sunrise6:07 AM on 13 Aug
- Hari Vasara ends9:35 AM on 13 August
- Parana window1:40 – 4:11 PM
- Dwadashi ends5:22 AM on 14 August
05Why 12 August
- In Bengaluru: It is kept on 12 August because the Ekadashi tithi is current at sunrise that morning (6:07 AM).
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.
06Shravana Putrada Ekadashi in other years
- 2026Sunday, 23 August · parana 1:37 – 4:06 PM
- 2027Thursday, 12 August · parana 1:40 – 4:11 PM
- 2028Tuesday, 1 August · parana 6:05 – 8:38 AM
