← Vrat Calendar

Ekadashi

Shrinathji (Balamukundan — child Krishna lifting Mount Govardhan)

Pushti Marg

Get a reminder before the next Ekadashi

At 7pm the evening before, each time it comes around. Turn it off anytime.

Remind me

Dates shown for India (default). Enable JavaScript to set a reminder for your location.

Ekadashi in Pushti Marg is not primarily a day of austerity — it is a day of deepened seva (devotional service) to Shrinathji. The grain-free discipline clears the mind for focused bhog and darshan. Every item of food is prepared with devotion, offered to Shrinathji first, and received back as prasad. Ekadashi comes twice each lunar month — on the 11th tithi of the waxing and waning moon. Vikram Samvat 2082–2083

Dates 2026–2027

January 14, 2026January 29, 2026February 13, 2026February 27, 2026March 15, 2026March 29, 2026April 13, 2026April 27, 2026May 13, 2026May 27, 2026June 11, 2026June 25, 2026July 11, 2026July 25, 2026August 9, 2026August 23, 2026September 7, 2026September 22, 2026October 6, 2026October 22, 2026November 5, 2026November 21, 2026December 4, 2026December 20, 2026January 3, 2027January 19, 2027

Mantra

Shri Krishnah Sharanam Mama

The Ashtakshara — the 8-word Pushti Marg initiation mantra of surrender

Shri Krishna is my one true refuge — I surrender entirely to him

How to recite

On Ekadashi, perform Shrinathji's morning seva before your first meal. Arrange grain-free bhog of fruits, milk, nuts, and sweets on a clean thali and offer it to Shrinathji with the Ashtakshara mantra. Only after this seva may you eat — receiving the food as prasad. Read from the Bhagavata Purana or Vallabhacharya's Subodhini. Chant the Ashtakshara 108 times on a tulsi mala.

Benefits

Vallabhacharya (1479–1531 CE) founded Pushti Marg — the 'Path of Divine Grace' — teaching that Krishna sustains (pushti) his devotees through his own boundless grace, not through the devotee's austerity. The Ashtakshara mantra, received through the Brahma-sambandha initiation, establishes the devotee's complete surrender to Shrinathji.

✦ Special Note

In Pushti Marg, Vallabhacharya taught 'Seva is the path' — not fasting, renunciation, or ascetic practice. On Ekadashi, prepare grain-free bhog with love: fruits, dairy, nuts, and sweets. Lay it before Shrinathji's svarupa, offer it with the Ashtakshara mantra, and then eat it as prasad. Never eat before offering. This is the essence of Pushti Marg — transforming every meal into an act of loving devotion. Dates follow the standard Vikram Samvat lunisolar tithi (Sud/Vad) — same computation as Drik Panchang, with Vaishnava sunrise reckoning.

Foods Allowed

Fruits of all kinds — banana, mango, apple, grapes, pomegranate, chikooDairy — milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, paneer, khoya, mishri, creamSabudana (tapioca pearls) — khichdi or kheer cooked in gheeNuts and dry fruits — almonds, cashews, raisins, dates, pistachiosSendha namak (rock salt) — the only permitted salt on fast daysCoconut — fresh coconut water and coconut piecesAll bhog first offered to Shrinathji, then received as prasad

Foods to Avoid

Grains — wheat, rice, dal, lentils on Ekadashi daysOnion and garlic — never used in Pushti Marg seva or bhogMeat, fish, eggsUnoffered food — all food must be presented to Shrinathji before eatingTable salt or sea salt — only sendha namak on fast days

Meal Idea

Sabudana khichdi cooked in ghee with sendha namak and roasted peanuts, a fresh fruit thali with ripe banana and pomegranate seeds, and warm saffron milk with mishri — each item arranged lovingly on a clean thali and first offered to Shrinathji before serving

📜 The story behind this vrat

Once the sage Narada Muni asked Lord Vishnu — "O Lord, what is the greatest vrat a devotee can observe?" Lord Vishnu replied — "Narada, of all vrats Ekadashi is the most sacred. On this day a demon named Mura hid inside grains and pulses to corrupt the minds of humans. When devotees avoid grains on Ekadashi they starve this demon and protect their soul from impurity. I am most pleased by this fast…

Read full katha ›

Once the sage Narada Muni asked Lord Vishnu — "O Lord, what is the greatest vrat a devotee can observe?" Lord Vishnu replied — "Narada, of all vrats Ekadashi is the most sacred. On this day a demon named Mura hid inside grains and pulses to corrupt the minds of humans. When devotees avoid grains on Ekadashi they starve this demon and protect their soul from impurity. I am most pleased by this fast above all others." Narada asked — "Who first observed this vrat?" Lord Vishnu smiled and said — "Long ago a demon named Mura terrorised the heavens and my realm. I fought him for a thousand years and grew weary. I rested in a cave called Badarikashram. From my own divine energy a beautiful maiden emerged — born of my exhaustion and my shakti — and while I slept she fought Mura alone and slew him. When I awoke and saw what she had done I granted her a boon. She said — Lord, give me a name and let those who fast on the day of my birth be freed from all sin. I named her Ekadashi — she who was born on the eleventh day. I blessed her thus: Whoever fasts on Ekadashi shall be freed from the cycle of birth and death. Their devotion shall reach me directly. The sins of seven lifetimes shall be washed away in a single Ekadashi fast observed with pure heart and full devotion. This is why Ekadashi is the most beloved fast among all Vaishnavas. It comes twice every lunar month — on the eleventh day of the waxing moon and the eleventh day of the waning moon. Each Ekadashi carries its own name and its own special blessing. Observe it with devotion, stay awake in prayer if you can, and Lord Vishnu himself will hold you in his heart."

Your family's version of this story may differ — all versions are sacred.

🪔 Aarti

Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki

आरती कुंज बिहारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की ॥ गले में बैजंती माला, बजावे मुरली मधुर बाला । श्रवण में कुण्डल झलकाला, नंद के आनंद नंदलाला ॥ गगन सम अंग कांति काली, राधिका चमक रही आली । लतन में ठाढ़े बनमाली, भ्रमर सी अलक, कस्तूरी तिलक, चंद्र सी झलक, ललित छवि श्यामा प्यारी की ॥ कनकमय मोर मुकुट बिलसे, देवता दरसन को तरसे । गगन सों सुमन राशि बरसे, बाजे मुरचंग, मधुर मृदंग, ग्वालिन संग, अतुल रति गोप कुमारी की ॥ जहां ते प्रगट भई गंगा, कलुष कली हारिणि श्री गंगा । स्मरण ते होत मोह भंगा, बसी शिव सीस, जटा के बीच, हरे अघ कीच, चरण छवि श्री बनवारी की ॥ चमकती उज्ज्वल तट रेणु, बज रही वृंदावन बेणु । चहुं दिसि गोपी ग्वाल धेनु, हंसत मृदु मंद, चांदनी चंद, कटत भव फंद, टेर सुन दीन भिखारी की ॥

Related vrats

Prioritising the same tradition and category, with related tradition or family entries when fewer than six exist.

Browse all Pushti Marg observances →

Get a reminder before the next Ekadashi

At 7pm the evening before, each time it comes around. Turn it off anytime.

Remind me

Dates shown for India (default). Enable JavaScript to set a reminder for your location.

Track this vrat in the app

Personalised timings, reminders, and fasting guides for your tradition.

Open VRAT App →