Skip to content
Swarn Siddhi EN Get app Get app Open app
Open menu

Shukla paksha · Chaitra · amanta reckoning

When is Kamada Ekadashi 2027?

Kamada Ekadashi 2027

In 173 days

Sat, 17 Apr

Kamada Ekadashi 2027 is on Saturday, 17 April. Parana, breaking the fast, is on 18 April, 5:52 AM to 7:43 AM in New Delhi.

2028: Wednesday, 5 April 2028

Parana (breaking the fast), 18 Apr 2027

5:52 AM – 7:43 AM

New Delhi

Ask Swarn

Is this muhurat good for my chart? Ask Swarn free

Computed for New Delhi

The date in New Delhi

Saturday, 17 April 2027

Kamada Ekadashi 2027 timings in New Delhi
TimingNew DelhiWhat it is
Parana (breaking the fast), 18 Apr 20275:52 AM to 7:43 AMThe window is the first fifth of the daylight (pratahkala). Dwadashi ends inside the window, so parana closes there.

Kamada Ekadashi is not a Gregorian date. It is Shukla paksha tithi 11 of Chaitra in the amanta reckoning, and the Gregorian day it lands on moves by up to a month between years because twelve lunations fall about eleven days short of a solar year.

Tithi
Ekadashi, Shukla paksha
Lunar month
Chaitra (amanta)
Tithi begins
16 Apr, 11:22 AM
Tithi ends
17 Apr, 9:28 AM
Decided at
Sunrise
Sunrise in New Delhi
17 Apr, 5:54 AM

Sunrise in New Delhi falls at 5:54 AM on that day, and that is the instant the tithi has to be running at for the day to carry the observance. It is computed for this city rather than assumed, because it is what decides the date.

The two instants above are the astronomy and are not in dispute. The day is an interpretation of them: this observance is decided at sunrise, so it belongs to the day whose sunrise the tithi carries — not simply to the day the tithi begins.

Shukla paksha · Chaitra

Kamada Ekadashi 2027: Smarta and Vaishnava dates

Listed here (Smarta, the sunrise rule)
Saturday, 17 April 2027 — The fast belongs to the day whose sunrise carries Ekadashi — the day AstroSage lists and the one this page leads with.
Vaishnava (ISKCON), the arunodaya rule
Saturday, 17 April 2027 — The same day this year. The Vaishnava rule reads the tithi at arunodaya, the 96 minutes before sunrise, rather than at sunrise; the arunodaya of Saturday, 17 April 2027 (17 Apr, 4:18 AM) is already inside Ekadashi, not Dashami.

Every day above is computed for New Delhi from the same tithi instants. ISKCON temples publish their own calendar for each city and also apply the Mahadvadashi rules, which can move a fast to Dwadashi in some years — where your temple's calendar differs, follow it.

Meaning and vrat katha

Kamada Ekadashi vrat katha and significance

Kamada Ekadashi is the first Ekadashi of the Hindu year, the bright half of Chaitra, a few days after Ram Navami. Kamada means "the one that fulfils wishes", and the day is kept for Vishnu in the hope of freedom from a fault or a curse — which is what its katha is about. It is also widely kept in Vaishnava homes as the Ekadashi that opens the year's cycle of twenty-four.

The katha

Retold in brief from the Varaha Purana, in the Ekadashi-mahatmya, where the sage Vasishtha tells it to King Dilipa and Krishna repeats it to Yudhishthira.

In the city of Ratnapura, King Pundarika held court among gandharvas, kinnaras and apsaras. Among the singers was the gandharva Lalit, whose wife Lalita was a dancer, and the two were devoted to each other.

One day Lalit sang before the king while Lalita was away, and his mind wandered to her; he lost the rhythm and the words. The king took it as an insult and cursed him to become a man-eating rakshasa. At once Lalit's form changed into something huge and terrible, and he fled to the forests, with Lalita following him in grief.

In the Vindhya hills she found the ashram of the sage Shringi and begged him for a way to free her husband. The sage told her that the Ekadashi of the bright half of Chaitra, Kamada, was near: if she kept it with devotion and gave its merit to Lalit, the curse would end.

Lalita kept the fast, stayed awake through the night, and on Dwadashi offered its merit to her husband before Vishnu. The Purana says Lalit returned at once to his own form, and the two went back to the gandharvas' world together. Vasishtha closes by saying that the fast removes even a fault as heavy as that curse, and that hearing the story is itself counted as merit.

How the fast is kept

  • The fast runs from sunrise on the Ekadashi day to parana on Dwadashi. Many families eat a single plain meal on Dashami, the evening before.
  • Grains and rice are left out on Ekadashi. Those who cannot keep a complete fast take fruit, milk or a phalahar meal; a waterless fast is kept only by those whose tradition and health allow it.
  • Vishnu is worshipped with tulsi leaves, a lamp and his names; reading or hearing the day's katha is part of the observance, and many stay awake for a part of the night in kirtan or japa.
  • Parana is on Dwadashi, after Hari Vasara — the first quarter of Dwadashi — has passed. The window for your city is computed above.

Fasting customs are described here as tradition, not as medical advice. Consult a doctor before fasting, particularly if you are pregnant, diabetic, elderly or on medication.

All 26 · New Delhi

Every Ekadashi and its next date

Twenty-four in an ordinary year, two more in a year with an adhika month. Each has its own page with its katha, parana and Smarta and Vaishnava dates.

The next Ekadashi and its parana · every Ekadashi of 2027 with tithi and parana times

All Kamada Ekadashi 2027 muhurat · New Delhi

Kamada Ekadashi muhurat

Kamada Ekadashi, the first Ekadashi of the Hindu year, is kept for Vishnu in the bright half of Chaitra, a few days after Ram Navami; its name means the one that fulfils wishes. In New Delhi it falls on Saturday, 17 April 2027: the fast runs from sunrise to parana on Dwadashi, 18 Apr, 5:52 AM to 7:43 AM. Many Vaishnava homes begin the year's twenty-four Ekadashis with it.

All Kamada Ekadashi 2027 muhurat in New Delhi
MuhuratTime in New DelhiWhat it is for
Parana: the time to break the fast18 Apr, 5:52 AM to 7:43 AMThe morning of Dwadashi (the first fifth of the day), Hari Vasara having ended overnight. Dwadashi ends inside the window, so parana closes with it.

The window on Dwadashi, the morning after the fast, in which Kamada Ekadashi is completed. It opens once Hari Vasara is over and normally closes with the first part of the morning; when Hari Vasara runs late it moves past midday, and it never runs beyond the end of Dwadashi. The time shown is computed for New Delhi.

Hari Vasara ends3:02 PMThe end of the first quarter of Dwadashi; the fast is never broken inside it.

Hari Vasara is the first quarter of Dwadashi. The fast is not broken inside it, even when it is already morning, so its end in New Delhi is the earliest moment parana can begin.

Brahma Muhurta4:25 AM to 5:09 AMThe 14th of the night's fifteen muhurtas, ending one muhurta before sunrise.

The hour before dawn on the Ekadashi day, the traditional time to wake, bathe and take the sankalp of the fast.

Sunrise5:54 AMThe upper edge of the Sun on the horizon, with refraction.

The fast is counted from sunrise on Ekadashi to parana on Dwadashi, and the morning puja begins after it.

Auspicious choghadiya (day)
  • Shubh 7:30 AM to 9:07 AM
  • Chal 12:21 PM to 1:57 PM
  • Labh 1:57 PM to 3:34 PM
  • Amrit 3:34 PM to 5:11 PM
The day's Amrit, Shubh, Labh and Chal choghadiyas.

The day's Amrit, Shubh, Labh and Chal periods. Families who cannot worship at dawn choose one of them for the main puja.

Pradosh Kaal: the evening lamps6:48 PM to 9:01 PMFrom sunset for three night muhurtas (a fifth of the night).

The evening after sunset, when lamps are lit before Vishnu and beside the tulsi and the aarti is sung again.

Nishita Kaal: the night vigil11:58 PM to 12:42 AM (18 Apr)The 8th of the night's fifteen muhurtas, around the middle of the night.

The middle of the night, the heart of the jagran. Those who keep the night awake give this part of it to kirtan and japa.

Rahu Kaal (to avoid)Kept clear of9:07 AM to 10:44 AMRahu's eighth of the daylight, fixed by the weekday: a puja, a purchase or a journey is not begun in it.

The weekday's Rahu Kaal on the Ekadashi day in New Delhi. Many families avoid beginning the sankalp or the main puja inside it; it does not change the fast itself or the parana window.

Auspicious windows that day

Auspicious windows that day
WindowTime in New DelhiWhat it is
Abhijit Muhurat11:55 AM to 12:46 PMAuspicious
Amrit Kaal11:58 PM to 1:30 AMMost Auspicious
Brahma Muhurat4:25 AM to 5:09 AMAuspicious

Windows usually worked around

These are the spans classical muhurta sets aside for beginnings. They are descriptions of a convention, not warnings: the observance is kept on its day regardless, and nothing here needs to be bought, corrected or remedied.

Windows usually worked around
WindowTime in New Delhi
Rahu Kaal9:07 AM to 10:44 AM
Yamaganda Kaal1:57 PM to 3:34 PM
Durmuhurta First5:54 AM to 6:45 AM
Durmuhurta Second6:45 AM to 7:37 AM
Varjyam2:47 PM to 4:19 PM

Every time above is computed for New Delhi around Saturday, 17 April 2027, from the sunrise, sunset and the positions of the Sun and Moon for this city. The Vedic day runs sunrise to sunrise, so a window whose clock time falls after midnight still belongs to the evening before; a time on another date carries that date.

Puja vidhi · step by step at home

Kamada Ekadashi puja vidhi

  1. The day before: Dashami

    Eat a single simple meal on Dashami, before sunset, without onion, garlic or rice, and keep the evening light and quiet. Clean the puja corner and pick the tulsi leaves you will need, since tulsi is not plucked on Ekadashi itself.

  2. Wake early and bathe

    Rise early on Ekadashi, in Brahma Muhurta if you can, bathe (a few drops of Ganga jal in the water if you have it) and put on clean clothes; yellow is the colour traditionally worn for Vishnu.

  3. Take the sankalp

    Sit before the altar, hold a little water and a flower in your right hand and resolve to keep the vrat: say your name, that you are keeping Kamada Ekadashi for Vishnu, and how you will fast, whether without water, on water alone, on fruit or with one phalahar meal. Then let the water fall. The Ekadashi sankalpa verse in the mantra section can be said here.

  4. Set up the altar

    Spread a yellow cloth on a clean chowki and place an image of Vishnu or Krishna on it (a Shaligram or Laddu Gopal if the house keeps one), with a ghee lamp and a small kalash or lota of water. Remember Ganesh first, with a flower and Om Gam Ganapataye Namah, as every puja begins.

  5. Worship Vishnu

    Bathe a metal idol or the Shaligram with water, then panchamrit, then water again (for a picture, sprinkle water with a flower). Offer sandalwood, yellow flowers, a yellow cloth or mauli, incense, the lamp and tulsi leaves picked the day before, chanting Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Many households keep rice out of the Ekadashi puja altogether and offer a flower or a few sesame seeds where akshat would go.

  6. Offer bhog

    Offer what you will eat yourself: fruit, a sweet made without grain, makhana, dry fruit or panchamrit, with a tulsi leaf on each offering. Nothing cooked from grain or pulses is offered or eaten on Ekadashi.

  7. Katha and aarti

    Read or listen to the Kamada Ekadashi vrat katha below, and the Vishnu Sahasranama or a chapter of the Gita if you can. Then sing Om Jai Jagdish Hare with a ghee lamp or camphor, and ask pardon for any mistake made in the puja.

  8. Through the day

    Keep the fast as you resolved it, keep Vishnu's name in mind and avoid sleeping in the day, anger, gossip and harsh words. Give water, fruit or food to someone who needs it; charity is part of every Ekadashi.

  9. Lamps at dusk

    At sunset light a ghee lamp before Vishnu and another beside the tulsi plant, without plucking its leaves, and sing the aarti again.

  10. The night vigil

    Stay awake for as much of the night as you can, in kirtan, japa or reading; the middle of the night is the heart of the jagran. Those who cannot keep the whole night keep a part of it.

  11. Offer the merit for someone you love

    In the katha Lalita kept this fast for her husband and offered its merit to him before Vishnu. If you keep Kamada for someone in difficulty, a husband or wife, a parent or a child, name them in the morning sankalp and, on Dwadashi before parana, offer the fast's merit to them with water and a flower.

  12. Dwadashi: give, then break the fast

    Next morning bathe, worship Vishnu briefly and give food, grain or a gift to a brahmin or someone in need. Then break the fast inside the parana window: a tulsi leaf with water, or a fruit, first, saying the parana verse, and after it a simple sattvic meal.

Samagri · what to keep ready

Kamada Ekadashi puja samagri list

  • An image of Vishnu or Krishna A framed picture is enough; a metal idol, a Shaligram or Laddu Gopal is bathed in the puja.
  • A chowki and a yellow cloth Yellow is Vishnu's colour; a clean red cloth also does.
  • Tulsi leaves Picked on Dashami, because tulsi is not plucked on Ekadashi; one goes on every offering.
  • A ghee lamp and cotton wicks One for the altar and one for the tulsi at dusk; sesame oil is the usual alternative.
  • Yellow flowers and a garland Marigold, champa or any fresh yellow flowers; a lotus if you can find one.
  • Chandan (sandalwood paste) For the deity's tilak; haldi paste is the alternative.
  • Roli and haldi For the tilak and for marking the kalash.
  • Panchamrit Milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar, for the bath of the idol and as prasad.
  • Ganga jal A few drops in the bath water and to purify the altar; clean water if you have none.
  • A kalash or lota of water For the bath, achaman and the sankalp.
  • Incense and dhoop Whatever you use every day.
  • Camphor, an aarti plate and a bell For the aarti; a conch if the house has one.
  • Mauli (kalava) Offered as the deity's cloth or tied on the wrist.
  • A yellow cloth for the deity Optional; mauli takes its place.
  • Fruits of the season Banana, apple, guava, pomegranate or whatever is fresh, offered and then eaten as phalahar.
  • Grain-free sweets Makhana kheer, mishri, peda or dry fruit; nothing made with flour or rice.
  • A few sesame seeds Offered where akshat would go by the many households that keep rice out of the Ekadashi puja.
  • A tulsi mala For 108 repetitions of the mantra.
  • The vrat katha, Vishnu Sahasranama or Gita A book or a phone; reading the katha is part of the vrat.
  • Daan for Dwadashi Grain, fruit, clothes or dakshina, given before parana.

Mantras · in Devanagari, with meaning

Kamada Ekadashi mantras and aarti

Shantakaram: the Vishnu dhyana verse

शान्ताकारं भुजगशयनं पद्मनाभं सुरेशं विश्वाधारं गगनसदृशं मेघवर्णं शुभाङ्गम् ।
लक्ष्मीकान्तं कमलनयनं योगिभिर्ध्यानगम्यं वन्दे विष्णुं भवभयहरं सर्वलोकैकनाथम् ॥

Shantakaram bhujagashayanam padmanabham suresham vishvadharam gaganasadrisham meghavarnam shubhangam
Lakshmikantam kamalanayanam yogibhir dhyanagamyam vande Vishnum bhavabhayaharam sarvalokaikanatham

Meaning: I bow to Vishnu: peaceful in form, resting on the serpent, the lotus at his navel, lord of the gods, support of the universe, vast as the sky, dark as a rain cloud, of auspicious form, beloved of Lakshmi, lotus-eyed, reached by yogis in meditation, who removes the fear of worldly existence, the one lord of all the worlds.

When and how: Once, with folded hands, before the worship begins, picturing Vishnu as the verse describes him.

The Ekadashi sankalpa verse

एकादश्यां निराहारः स्थित्वाहमपरेऽहनि ।
भोक्ष्यामि पुण्डरीकाक्ष शरणं मे भवाच्युत ॥

Ekadashyam niraharah sthitvaham apare'hani
Bhokshyami pundarikaksha sharanam me bhavachyuta

Meaning: O lotus-eyed Lord, I shall stay without food on Ekadashi and eat on the day after. O Achyuta, be my refuge.

When and how: Once in the morning, with water in the right hand, while taking the sankalp of the fast.

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya (the twelve-syllable mantra)

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

Meaning: Om, salutation to the Lord Vasudeva, Vishnu as the one who dwells in all beings. It is the mantra Narada taught the boy Dhruva in the Bhagavata Purana.

When and how: The main japa of Ekadashi: 108 times on a tulsi mala during the puja, and as often as you like through the day and the night vigil.

Shri Rama Rama Rameti: the verse of Rama's name

श्रीराम राम रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे ।
सहस्रनाम तत्तुल्यं रामनाम वरानने ॥

Shri Rama Rama Rameti rame Rame manorame
Sahasranama tattulyam Ramanama varanane

Meaning: Saying Rama, Rama, Rama, I delight in Rama, the delight of the mind. Rama's name equals the thousand names, O lovely-faced one. Shiva's words to Parvati at the close of the Vishnu Sahasranama.

When and how: Three times; by tradition it stands in for the whole Vishnu Sahasranama when time is short.

The parana verse

अज्ञानतिमिरान्धस्य व्रतेनानेन केशव ।
प्रसीद सुमुखो नाथ ज्ञानदृष्टिप्रदो भव ॥

Ajnana-timirandhasya vratenanena Keshava
Prasida sumukho natha jnana-drishti-prado bhava

Meaning: O Keshava, by this vow be pleased with one who is blinded by the darkness of ignorance. Be gracious, Lord, and grant the sight of knowledge.

When and how: Once on Dwadashi, inside the parana window, before the first sip of water or bite of fruit.

Aarti Vishnu Aarti: Om Jai Jagdish Hare the full text

ॐ जय जगदीश हरे, स्वामी जय जगदीश हरे।
भक्त जनों के संकट, दास जनों के संकट, क्षण में दूर करे॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥

जो ध्यावे फल पावे, दुःख बिनसे मन का, स्वामी दुःख बिनसे मन का।
सुख सम्पति घर आवे, सुख सम्पति घर आवे, कष्ट मिटे तन का॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥

मात पिता तुम मेरे, शरण गहूं किसकी, स्वामी शरण गहूं मैं किसकी।
तुम बिन और न दूजा, तुम बिन और न दूजा, आस करूं मैं जिसकी॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥

तुम पूरण परमात्मा, तुम अन्तर्यामी, स्वामी तुम अन्तर्यामी।
पारब्रह्म परमेश्वर, पारब्रह्म परमेश्वर, तुम सब के स्वामी॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥

तुम करुणा के सागर, तुम पालनकर्ता, स्वामी तुम पालनकर्ता।
मैं मूरख फलकामी, मैं सेवक तुम स्वामी, कृपा करो भर्ता॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥

तुम हो एक अगोचर, सबके प्राणपति, स्वामी सबके प्राणपति।
किस विधि मिलूं दयामय, किस विधि मिलूं दयामय, तुमको मैं कुमति॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥

दीन-बन्धु दुःख-हर्ता, ठाकुर तुम मेरे, स्वामी रक्षक तुम मेरे।
अपने हाथ उठाओ, अपने शरण लगाओ, द्वार पड़ा तेरे॥
ॐ जय जगदीश हरे॥

विषय-विकार मिटाओ, पाप हरो देवा, स्वामी पाप हरो देवा।
श्रद्धा भक्ति बढ़ाओ, श्रद्धा भक्ति बढ़ाओ, सन्तन की सेवा॥

ॐ जय जगदीश हरे, स्वामी जय जगदीश हरे।
भक्त जनों के संकट, दास जनों के संकट, क्षण में दूर करे॥

Om jai Jagdish hare, swami jai Jagdish hare.
Bhakt janon ke sankat, das janon ke sankat, kshan mein door kare.
Om jai Jagdish hare.

Jo dhyave phal pave, dukh binse man ka, swami dukh binse man ka.
Sukh sampati ghar aave, sukh sampati ghar aave, kasht mite tan ka.
Om jai Jagdish hare.

Maat pita tum mere, sharan gahoon kiski, swami sharan gahoon main kiski.
Tum bin aur na dooja, tum bin aur na dooja, aas karoon main jiski.
Om jai Jagdish hare.

Tum pooran Parmatma, tum antaryami, swami tum antaryami.
Parabrahm Parmeshwar, Parabrahm Parmeshwar, tum sab ke swami.
Om jai Jagdish hare.

Tum karuna ke sagar, tum palankarta, swami tum palankarta.
Main moorakh phalkami, main sevak tum swami, kripa karo bharta.
Om jai Jagdish hare.

Tum ho ek agochar, sabke pranpati, swami sabke pranpati.
Kis vidhi miloon dayamay, kis vidhi miloon dayamay, tumko main kumati.
Om jai Jagdish hare.

Deen-bandhu dukh-harta, thakur tum mere, swami rakshak tum mere.
Apne haath uthao, apne sharan lagao, dwar pada tere.
Om jai Jagdish hare.

Vishay-vikar mitao, paap haro deva, swami paap haro deva.
Shraddha bhakti badhao, shraddha bhakti badhao, santan ki seva.

Om jai Jagdish hare, swami jai Jagdish hare.
Bhakt janon ke sankat, das janon ke sankat, kshan mein door kare.

Text as it is commonly sung. The Gita Press Aarti Sangrah prints 'prabhu' for 'swami', 'chhin mein' for 'kshan mein' and 'khal kami' for 'phalkami'; it does not repeat the half-lines, has no 'das janon ke sankat', 'main sevak tum swami' or 'apne sharan lagao', and reads 'tum thakur mere' for 'thakur tum mere, swami rakshak tum mere'. Printed text

Significance

Why Kamada Ekadashi is kept

Following close on Ram Navami, it is observed by many families with Rama's name carried on from the festival, and Hanuman Jayanti comes soon after. Its katha turns on a single lapse of attention, so the observance asks for the opposite: a puja done slowly, with the mind on each offering, and an old quarrel mended. As summer's heat begins, water and shade for others are a fitting gift.

Its katha comes from the Varaha Purana, where the sage Vasishtha, guru of the Raghu line, tells it to King Dilipa: the gandharva Lalit, cursed to become a rakshasa for a moment's lapse, was freed when his wife Lalita kept this fast and gave him its merit. So the day is also kept by one person for another, offering the fast's merit to someone in difficulty. It falls between late March and late April.

Upay · traditional practice

Kamada Ekadashi upay: traditional remedies

Keep it for someone in difficulty

Lalita kept Kamada for her husband and gave him its merit. If someone you love is struggling, keep the fast in their name and offer its merit to them before parana; tradition values the selflessness more than the outcome.

Begin the year's Ekadashis

As the first Ekadashi of the Hindu year, Kamada is a natural day to resolve to keep the year's Ekadashis, one at a time, as health allows.

Rama's name after Ram Navami

Kamada comes days after Ram Navami, and its katha is told by Rama's family guru Vasishtha. Recite the Rama Rameti verse three times, which tradition counts as the whole Vishnu Sahasranama.

Full attention to the puja

Lalit's curse came from a lapse of attention before the king. Give the puja and the katha your whole mind, with the phone away.

Water and shade for the summer

Kamada comes as the heat rises. Setting out water, buttermilk or a fan for workers and passers-by is a fitting daan of the season.

Mend a quarrel

The katha turns on a king's anger and a wife's loyalty. Make peace with someone you have quarrelled with before the new year runs on.

The custom, in short

Kamada Ekadashi do's and don'ts

Do

  • Eat one light sattvic meal on Dashami, before sunset.
  • Take the sankalp in the morning and keep the fast in the form you chose.
  • Put a tulsi leaf, picked the day before, on every offering.
  • Chant Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya and read or hear the katha.
  • Light a lamp before Vishnu and beside the tulsi at dusk.
  • Keep at least part of the night awake in kirtan or japa.
  • Give food or water to someone in need, and give daan on Dwadashi before parana.
  • Break the fast inside the parana window on Dwadashi.
  • If you keep the fast for another person, name them in the sankalp, as Lalita kept it for Lalit.

Don't

  • Do not eat rice, wheat, dal or any other grain or pulse on Ekadashi.
  • Do not pluck tulsi leaves on Ekadashi.
  • Do not eat onion, garlic, meat or eggs, or drink alcohol, from Dashami to Dwadashi.
  • Do not sleep during the day.
  • Do not quarrel, lie or speak harshly.
  • Do not break the fast during Hari Vasara, or let Dwadashi pass without parana.
  • Do not press the sick, the elderly, pregnant or nursing women or children into a strict fast; anyone with diabetes or another condition, or on regular medicine, should ask a doctor before fasting.
  • Do not let the mind wander during the puja; in the katha a moment's lapse of attention brought the curse.

Across India

Kamada Ekadashi bhog and food

  • Fruit and milk The simplest phalahar: seasonal fruit, milk, curd or buttermilk through the day.
  • Sabudana khichdi Sago with potato and rock salt, often with peanuts; a staple fasting meal in many homes.
  • Kuttu or singhara puri Buckwheat or water-chestnut flour with potato sabzi, in families whose custom allows these flours.
  • Samak, the vrat rice Barnyard millet cooked like rice in North India; some traditions count millets as grain and leave it out.
  • Potato, sweet potato and arbi Boiled, or lightly fried in ghee with rock salt, cumin and green chilli.
  • Makhana Roasted, or as kheer, for the bhog and the fast.
  • Sendha namak (rock salt) Used instead of common salt by most who fast; some keep the day without salt altogether.
  • The parana meal On Dwadashi, a tulsi leaf with water or a fruit first, then a simple home-cooked meal; grain returns with the parana.

Kamada Ekadashi across five years

Two years back, this year, and two ahead. Past years are kept rather than dropped so you can check the engine against a calendar you already have.

Kamada Ekadashi across five years
YearDateStatus
2024Friday, 19 April 2024past
2025Tuesday, 8 April 2025past
2026This yearSunday, 29 March 2026past
2027Saturday, 17 April 2027upcoming
2028Wednesday, 5 April 2028upcoming

Every row is computed for New Delhi from the same ephemeris, not looked up. Sunrise decides which day a tithi names, and sunrise differs across India by more than an hour, so a date computed for Delhi can be a day out elsewhere.

Why calendars disagree about this date

In 2027, for New Delhi: Dwadashi ends at 7:43 AM, so the parana must be over by then: a fast broken after Dwadashi is not counted. Some calendars print a window that runs on past it.

There is no single authority that settles a Hindu festival date, and the divergence is genuine rather than sloppy. Three causes account for almost all of it.

  1. A tithi rarely starts at sunrise. One that is running at the deciding moment on two days — or on none — is claimed by both days under different rules.
  2. Month reckoning. North India runs purnimanta, the south and west amanta. The same dark fortnight carries different month names in the two, so an observance defined as "krishna X of month Y" can land a full lunation apart.
  3. Which moment decides. Most vratas belong to the day whose sunrise carries the tithi, but not all: this one is decided at sunrise. Almanacs that apply the sunrise rule to everything move several festivals by a day.

So this page shows its working. If your pandit or your family almanac gives a different day, the instants above will usually show you exactly why — and that is more useful than a date asserted without one.

Common questions

When is Kamada Ekadashi?

In New Delhi, Kamada Ekadashi falls on Saturday, 17 April 2027, with Ekadashi tithi running 11:22 AM (16 Apr) to 9:28 AM. It is the bright-half Ekadashi of Chaitra, the first after the Hindu new year and a few days after Ram Navami.

Why does another calendar give a different Kamada Ekadashi date?

Three honest reasons. The tithi can be running at the deciding moment on two days or on none. North India reckons the month purnimanta and the south and west amanta, which names the same krishna fortnight differently. And almanacs differ on which moment of the day decides an observance. The instants above are the astronomy; the day is an interpretation of them.

Why is Kamada Ekadashi observed?

Kamada Ekadashi is the first Ekadashi of the Hindu year, the bright half of Chaitra, a few days after Ram Navami. Kamada means "the one that fulfils wishes", and the day is kept for Vishnu in the hope of freedom from a fault or a curse — which is what its katha is about. It is also widely kept in Vaishnava homes as the Ekadashi that opens the year's cycle of twenty-four.

Where does the Kamada Ekadashi vrat katha come from?

It is told in the Varaha Purana, in the Ekadashi-mahatmya, where the sage Vasishtha tells it to King Dilipa and Krishna repeats it to Yudhishthira. The katha is retold in full above.

Is Kamada Ekadashi on a different day for Smarta and Vaishnava (ISKCON)?

Not this year — both keep Saturday, 17 April 2027. The Vaishnava rule reads Ekadashi at arunodaya, and Ekadashi already holds that day's arunodaya.

Is Kamada Ekadashi in March or April?

It can be either: Kamada falls between late March and late April, on the eleventh day of the Hindu new year that begins with Chaitra Navratri. The date for New Delhi is Saturday, 17 April 2027; the table of years on this page shows the others.

What is the Kamada Ekadashi parana time?

Parana is on Dwadashi: in New Delhi, 18 Apr, 5:52 AM to 7:43 AM, once Hari Vasara has ended (3:02 PM). If you kept the fast for someone else, offer its merit to them just before you break it.

What is the Kamada Ekadashi vrat katha?

In King Pundarika's court at Ratnapura, the gandharva Lalit sang while his wife Lalita was away; his mind wandered to her and he lost the rhythm. The angry king cursed him to become a man-eating rakshasa. Lalita followed him into the forest and was told by the sage Shringi to keep the Kamada Ekadashi of Chaitra and give him its merit. She did, and Lalit returned at once to his own form. The full katha is above.

What is the significance of Kamada Ekadashi?

Kamada means the one that fulfils wishes. As the first Ekadashi of the Hindu year it opens the year's cycle of twenty-four, and its katha makes it the Ekadashi of release from a fault or a curse, and of a fast kept by one person for another. Vasishtha says in the Purana that it removes even so heavy a fault as Lalit's curse.

Why is Kamada called the first Ekadashi of the year?

The Hindu lunar year begins on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the first day of Chaitra Navratri, and Kamada is the first Ekadashi after it, in the same bright fortnight. That is why many calendars start the year's list of Ekadashis with Kamada and end it with Papmochani.

Can Kamada Ekadashi be kept for someone else?

Yes; that is its katha. Lalita kept the fast and offered its merit to her husband Lalit, and he was freed. Name the person in your morning sankalp and, before parana on Dwadashi, offer the merit to them with water and a flower in front of Vishnu; tradition holds that merit can be given in this way.

Does Kamada Ekadashi really fulfil wishes?

Its name and the Purana say so, and many keep it with a wish in mind. That is the tradition's language of faith, not a promise of results. The katha itself shows what is valued: Lalita asked nothing for herself and gave her fast to someone else.

How is the Kamada Ekadashi vrat kept?

Eat one sattvic meal on Dashami. On Ekadashi bathe early, take the sankalp, naming anyone you keep it for, and worship Vishnu with tulsi, yellow flowers, fruit and a ghee lamp. Read the Lalit and Lalita katha, sing the aarti, keep a water or fruit fast and part of the night in kirtan, and break the fast in the parana window.

What can I eat in the Kamada Ekadashi fast?

Kamada comes in early summer, so keep the phalahar light and cooling: watermelon, muskmelon, banana, curd, buttermilk with rock salt, coconut water, sabudana and makhana. No rice, wheat or dal, and no onion or garlic, until the parana.

How is Kamada Ekadashi linked to Ram Navami?

They fall in the same bright fortnight of Chaitra: Ram Navami on the ninth day, Kamada two days later on the eleventh. The katha is told by Vasishtha, guru of Rama's line, to King Dilipa of that line, so many families keep Rama's name through Kamada as well.

Which aarti is sung on Kamada Ekadashi?

The Ekadashi aarti in most homes is Om Jai Jagdish Hare, given in full above, sung after the morning puja and again with the evening lamps. Families who also sing the Ekadashi Mata aarti from their vrat book will find Kamada among the Ekadashis it names one by one.