The window is the first fifth of the daylight (pratahkala).
Aja Ekadashi is not a Gregorian date. It is Krishna paksha tithi 11 of Shravana 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, Krishna paksha
Lunar month
Shravana (amanta)
Tithi begins
27 Aug, 3:26 PM
Tithi ends
28 Aug, 12:43 PM
Decided at
Sunrise
Sunrise in New Delhi
28 Aug, 5:56 AM
Sunrise in New Delhi falls at 5:56 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.
Aja Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the dark (krishna) half of Bhadrapada in the purnimanta reckoning used across North India, and of Shravana in the amanta reckoning used in the south and west. It is the same night: the two calendars name the dark fortnight after different months.
Listed here (Smarta, the sunrise rule)
Saturday, 28 August 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, 28 August 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, 28 August 2027 (28 Aug, 4:20 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
Aja Ekadashi vrat katha and significance
Also known as Annada Ekadashi.
Aja Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada in the purnimanta reckoning — Shravana Krishna in the amanta one — a few days after Janmashtami. It is also called Annada Ekadashi. It is kept for Vishnu, and its katha is King Harishchandra's, so the day is associated with truthfulness kept through loss, and with the hope of recovering what has been taken.
The katha
Retold in brief from the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, in Krishna's Ekadashi-mahatmya to Yudhishthira.
King Harishchandra of Ayodhya was famous for never breaking his word. Having promised his whole kingdom away, he kept the promise, and to pay what he still owed he sold his wife Taramati and his son Rohitashva into service and then sold himself to a chandala, who set him to work at the cremation ground.
For years he did that work — collecting the fee for each cremation, far from everyone he loved — and he never once went back on his word. But he grieved, and he wondered how his suffering might end.
One day the sage Gautama passed that way, and Harishchandra told him his story. The sage was moved. The Ekadashi of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada, Aja, was only days away, he said; keep it with devotion and stay awake through its night.
Harishchandra kept the fast exactly as the sage had told him. The Purana says its merit ended his trials: his son, who had died, was restored to life, he was reunited with Taramati, and his kingdom was returned to him. Krishna tells Yudhishthira that the fast wins the merit of the horse sacrifice, and that even hearing the story carries 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.
Aja Ekadashi, also called Annada Ekadashi, is kept for Vishnu in the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada, a few days after Janmashtami; its katha is King Harishchandra's. In New Delhi it falls on Saturday, 28 August 2027: the fast runs from sunrise to parana on Dwadashi, 29 Aug, 5:57 AM to 8:31 AM. It is the Ekadashi of truthfulness kept through loss.
All Aja Ekadashi 2027 muhurat in New Delhi
Muhurat
Time in New Delhi
What it is for
Parana: the time to break the fast
29 Aug, 5:57 AM to 8:31 AMThe morning of Dwadashi (the first fifth of the day), Hari Vasara having ended overnight.
The window on Dwadashi, the morning after the fast, in which Aja 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 ends
5:56 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 Muhurta
4:27 AM to 5:12 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.
Sunrise
5:56 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)
Shubh7:33 AM to 9:09 AM
Chal12:22 PM to 1:58 PM
Labh1:58 PM to 3:35 PM
Amrit3:35 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 lamps
6:47 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 vigil
29 Aug, 12:00 AM to 12:44 AMThe 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 of
9:09 AM to 10:45 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
Window
Time in New Delhi
What it is
Abhijit Muhurat
11:56 AM to 12:48 PM
Auspicious
Amrit Kaal
4:07 AM to 5:34 AM
Most Auspicious
Brahma Muhurat
4:27 AM to 5:12 AM
Auspicious
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
Window
Time in New Delhi
Rahu Kaal
9:09 AM to 10:45 AM
Yamaganda Kaal
1:58 PM to 3:35 PM
Durmuhurta First
5:56 AM to 6:48 AM
Durmuhurta Second
6:48 AM to 7:39 AM
Varjyam
7:25 PM to 8:52 PM
Every time above is computed for New Delhi around Saturday, 28 August 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
Aja Ekadashi puja vidhi
Every Ekadashi is kept the same way: one sattvic meal on Dashami, the sankalp at dawn, Vishnu puja with tulsi, the katha and aarti, lamps at dusk, the night vigil and parana on Dwadashi. Those steps are in the Ekadashi vrat vidhi. Below are the steps Aja Ekadashi adds or words its own way.
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 Aja 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.
Katha and aarti
Read or listen to the Aja 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.
A day of truth, and of food given
Harishchandra kept his word through the loss of his kingdom, his family and his freedom. Speak only the truth today, keep any promise you have been putting off, and, as the day's other name Annada means the giver of food, give grain or a meal to someone who needs it.
Samagri · what to keep ready
Aja Ekadashi puja samagri list
The puja samagri every Ekadashi uses (an image of Vishnu, tulsi picked on Dashami, a ghee lamp, yellow flowers, panchamrit, Ganga jal and the rest) is in the Ekadashi samagri list. For Aja Ekadashi, add:
Grain and food for daanAnnada, the day's other name, means the giver of food; give grain or a meal on Dwadashi.
Mantras · in Devanagari, with meaning
Aja Ekadashi mantras and aarti
The verses every Ekadashi uses, from the dhyana and sankalpa verses to the parana verse, and the Om Jai Jagdish Hare aarti are in the Ekadashi guide's mantras and aarti. Aja Ekadashi's own:
Krishnaya Vasudevaya haraye paramatmane Pranata-klesha-nashaya Govindaya namo namah
Meaning: To Krishna, son of Vasudeva, to Hari, the Supreme Self, who ends the distress of those who bow to him, to Govinda: salutation again and again. A prayer from the Bhagavata Purana.
When and how: Said after the aarti; Aja comes days after Janmashtami, and this prayer to Krishna asks him to end the distress of those who bow to him, as Harishchandra's was ended.
Significance
Why Aja Ekadashi is kept
The vow this day asks for is honesty under pressure, the one thing its katha's king would not give up at any price: many keep the fast by going a whole day without a lie, or by keeping a promise they have put off. Its other name means the giver of food, and feeding someone is part of the observance. Ganesh Chaturthi comes about a week later, and Krishna's word in the katha is that this fast wins the merit of the horse sacrifice.
Harishchandra gave away his kingdom to keep his word, sold his wife, his son and himself, and worked at a cremation ground; on the sage Gautama's advice he kept this fast, and the Purana says his son was restored to life, his family reunited and his kingdom returned. It falls between mid-August and early September, in the late monsoon.
Upay · traditional practice
Aja Ekadashi upay: traditional remedies
A day without a single lie
Harishchandra never went back on his word, whatever it cost. Keep this one day free of even small untruths, at home and at work.
Keep a promise you have put off
Pay back what you borrowed, visit whom you said you would, finish what you agreed to do; the katha's king paid his debt by selling himself.
Annada: give food
The day's other name means the giver of food. Give grain to a kitchen that feeds the poor, or a hot meal to someone hungry, before your own parana.
Remember those who serve the dead
Harishchandra worked at a cremation ground. Give something, food, clothes or money, to the workers of a crematorium or to a family that has lost someone.
Hope for what was lost
The katha ends with a family reunited and a kingdom returned. If you are waiting for something lost, keep the fast with that hope, offered to Vishnu without bargaining.
Hear the katha
Krishna tells Yudhishthira that even hearing this katha carries merit; read it aloud to the family, children especially, as a story of honesty.
The custom, in short
Aja 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.
Speak the truth and keep your word today, as Harishchandra did.
Give grain or a meal on Dwadashi; Annada means the giver of food.
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 tell even a small lie or break a promise today.
Across India
Aja Ekadashi bhog and food
What may be eaten on any Ekadashi, from fruit and sabudana to samak rice and the parana meal, is in the Ekadashi food list.
Aja 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.
Aja Ekadashi across five years
Year
Date
Status
2024
Thursday, 29 August 2024
past
2025
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
past
2026This year
Monday, 7 September 2026
past
2027
Saturday, 28 August 2027
upcoming
2028
Wednesday, 16 August 2028
upcoming
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
In New Delhi, Aja Ekadashi falls on Saturday, 28 August 2027, and Ekadashi tithi runs 3:25 PM (27 Aug) to 12:42 PM. It is the dark-fortnight Ekadashi of Bhadrapada in North India (Shravana Krishna in the amanta calendar), three days after Janmashtami's Ashtami.
Why does another calendar give a different Aja 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 Aja Ekadashi observed?
Aja Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada in the purnimanta reckoning — Shravana Krishna in the amanta one — a few days after Janmashtami. It is also called Annada Ekadashi. It is kept for Vishnu, and its katha is King Harishchandra's, so the day is associated with truthfulness kept through loss, and with the hope of recovering what has been taken.
Where does the Aja Ekadashi vrat katha come from?
It is told in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, in Krishna's Ekadashi-mahatmya to Yudhishthira. The katha is retold in full above.
Is Aja Ekadashi on a different day for Smarta and Vaishnava (ISKCON)?
Not this year — both keep Saturday, 28 August 2027. The Vaishnava rule reads Ekadashi at arunodaya, and Ekadashi already holds that day's arunodaya.
Does Aja Ekadashi fall in August or September?
Mostly August, sometimes early September: Aja falls between mid-August and the first ten days of September. This time in New Delhi it is on Saturday, 28 August 2027; the table of years on this page lists the others.
What is the Aja Ekadashi parana time?
Aja's fast ends on Dwadashi morning: in New Delhi the parana window is 29 Aug, 5:57 AM to 8:31 AM, beginning once Hari Vasara is over (5:56 PM). Give grain or a meal to someone first, in keeping with the name Annada.
What is the Aja Ekadashi katha?
King Harishchandra of Ayodhya, famed for never breaking his word, gave away his kingdom as promised, sold his wife Taramati and son Rohitashva to pay what he still owed, and sold himself to a chandala who set him to work at a cremation ground. Years later the sage Gautama told him to keep the Aja Ekadashi of Bhadrapada. He did, and the Purana says his dead son was restored, his family reunited and his kingdom returned. The full katha is above.
What is the other name of Aja Ekadashi?
Annada Ekadashi, from anna, food, and da, giving: the Ekadashi of the giver of food. By month it is Bhadrapada Krishna Ekadashi in North India and Shravana Krishna Ekadashi in the amanta calendar of the West and South.
What does Aja mean?
Aja means the unborn, one of Vishnu's names in the Vishnu Sahasranama, for the Lord who is never born and never dies. The Ekadashi carries that name, and its katha, Harishchandra's, is about holding to the truth through losses that would break most people.
What is the significance of Aja Ekadashi?
The Purana says the fast ended Harishchandra's long trials and gives the merit of the horse sacrifice, and that even hearing its story carries merit. Families keep it for truthfulness under pressure and in hope of recovering something lost, a home, a livelihood or a relationship.
How is the Aja Ekadashi vrat kept?
Eat once on Dashami. On Ekadashi bathe, take the sankalp and worship Vishnu with tulsi, yellow flowers and a ghee lamp, and read Harishchandra's katha. Keep the fast as health allows, speak only the truth, keep part of the night awake, and on Dwadashi give grain or a meal before breaking the fast in the parana window.
Why is Harishchandra's story read on Aja Ekadashi?
Because the Ekadashi-mahatmya places it here: the sage Gautama found Harishchandra at the cremation ground and told him of this very Ekadashi, which ended his trials. Harishchandra is the tradition's model of truthfulness, so the day becomes a lesson in keeping one's word.
How is Aja Ekadashi connected to Janmashtami?
They fall in the same dark fortnight of Bhadrapada: Janmashtami on the eighth day, Aja on the eleventh. Many households keep the Janmashtami image of Krishna on the altar for Aja and say the Krishnaya Vasudevaya prayer after the aarti.
What can I eat on Aja Ekadashi?
In the late monsoon, keep phalahar fresh and light: banana, apple, pear, milk, makhana, sabudana, potato and arbi with rock salt, and kuttu or singhara where the family allows. Grain, dal, onion and garlic wait for the parana, when the day's name, giver of food, is honoured by feeding someone first.
Which aarti is sung on Aja Ekadashi?
Om Jai Jagdish Hare, printed in full above, after the morning puja and again with the evening lamps. With Janmashtami just past, many families add a Krishna aarti, and some sing the Ekadashi Mata aarti from their vrat book.
