01What Utpanna Ekadashi is
Utpanna Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the dark half of Kartik in the amanta calendar, which purnimanta calendars place in Margashirsha. It is kept in November or early December, in the first cool weeks of winter. Utpanna means born or arisen, and the day is named for the account of Ekadashi's own origin: the tradition treats Ekadashi not only as a date but as a goddess, a power that came forth from Vishnu, and this is her birthday. The account is told by Krishna to Yudhishthira.
Calendars that end the month at the new moon (amanta, used in the south and west) name it the Krishna Ekadashi of Kartik; those that end it at the full moon (purnimanta, used in the north) name it the Krishna Ekadashi of Margashirsha. It is the same day.
02The story told of it
In the account, an asura named Mura had driven the devas from heaven, and Vishnu fought him for a long age without a final victory. Wearied, Vishnu went to rest in the cave called Himavati at Badrikashrama. Mura followed, meaning to strike him as he slept, but a radiant maiden came forth from Vishnu's body and overcame Mura. When Vishnu woke, he named her Ekadashi, since she had arisen on the eleventh tithi, and promised that those who kept her day would be dear to him.
03How the fast is kept
Because it is Ekadashi's own birthday, Utpanna is the day the tradition recommends for beginning the practice of keeping Ekadashis. Many who take up the twice-monthly fast start here, with a sankalpa to keep the year's Ekadashis that follow. 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. Some families honour Ekadashi as a goddess alongside Vishnu, and the account of Mura is read aloud in the evening.
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 6:02 AM on 5 December, before sunrise, so parana runs from sunrise at 6:14 AM to the end of Pratahkal at 8:27 AM on 5 December.
- Sunrise6:14 AM on 5 Dec
- Hari Vasara ends6:02 AM on 5 December
- Parana window6:14 – 8:27 AM
- Dwadashi ends12:52 AM on 6 December
05Why 4 December
- In Visakhapatnam: It is kept on 4 December because the Ekadashi tithi is current at sunrise that morning (6:13 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.
06Utpanna Ekadashi in other years
- 2026Friday, 4 December · parana 6:14 – 8:27 AM
- 2027Wednesday, 24 November · parana 6:08 – 8:22 AM
- 2028Sunday, 12 November · parana 12:49 – 3:05 PM
