Also called Achala Ekadashi, Bhadrakali Ekadashi. Those are the same observance and the same date, so they share this page rather than competing with it from a second URL.
The window is the first fifth of the daylight (pratahkala).
Apara Ekadashi is not a Gregorian date. It is Krishna paksha tithi 11 of Vaishakha 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
Vaishakha (amanta)
Tithi begins
31 May, 10:03 AM
Tithi ends
1 Jun, 9:40 AM
Decided at
Sunrise
Sunrise in New Delhi
1 Jun, 5:23 AM
Sunrise in New Delhi falls at 5:23 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.
Apara Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the dark (krishna) half of Jyeshtha in the purnimanta reckoning used across North India, and of Vaishakha 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)
Tuesday, 1 June 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
Tuesday, 1 June 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 Tuesday, 1 June 2027 (1 Jun, 3:47 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
Apara Ekadashi vrat katha and significance
Also known as Achala Ekadashi.
Apara Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the dark fortnight of Jyeshtha in the purnimanta reckoning — Vaishakha Krishna in the amanta one. Apara means "boundless", for the merit the Purana assigns it. It is also called Achala Ekadashi; in Punjab, Haryana and Jammu it is kept as Bhadrakali Ekadashi, and in Odisha as Jalakrida Ekadashi, when Jagannath's festival images are taken to the water. Vishnu is worshipped as Trivikrama, the Vamana form that measured the worlds.
The katha
Retold in brief from the Brahmanda Purana, in Krishna's Ekadashi-mahatmya to Yudhishthira.
Mahidhvaja was a just and generous king, but his younger brother Vajradhvaja hated him and wanted the throne. One night Vajradhvaja killed him and buried the body secretly under a peepal tree in the forest.
Because he had died by violence and without the last rites, Mahidhvaja's spirit could not move on. It lived in that peepal as a restless ghost, troubling everyone who passed along the road beneath it.
One day the sage Dhaumya came that way. By his insight he saw who the ghost was and how it had come to be there, and instead of driving it off he took pity on it. He drew the spirit down from the tree, taught it, and then kept the Apara Ekadashi of Jyeshtha himself, giving the whole merit of the fast to the king.
The Purana says that the merit released Mahidhvaja at once: he took a radiant form, thanked the sage and went to the heavens. Krishna tells Yudhishthira that the fast clears even grave wrongs, and that its merit is as great as bathing at the most sacred places at their most auspicious times.
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.
Apara Ekadashi, the Ekadashi of boundless merit, is kept for Vishnu as Trivikrama in the dark fortnight of Jyeshtha; it is also called Achala Ekadashi. In New Delhi it falls on Tuesday, 1 June 2027: the fast runs from sunrise to parana on Dwadashi, 2 Jun, 5:23 AM to 8:09 AM. In Punjab, Haryana and Jammu the same day is Bhadrakali Ekadashi, and in Odisha Jalakrida Ekadashi.
All Apara Ekadashi 2027 muhurat in New Delhi
Muhurat
Time in New Delhi
What it is for
Parana: the time to break the fast
2 Jun, 5:23 AM to 8:09 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 Apara 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
3:22 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
4:02 AM to 4:42 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
5:23 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)
Chal8:51 AM to 10:35 AM
Labh10:35 AM to 12:19 PM
Amrit12:19 PM to 2:02 PM
Shubh3:46 PM to 5:30 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
7:14 PM to 9:16 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
11:58 PM to 12:39 AM (2 Jun)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 of
3:46 PM to 5:30 PMRahu'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
11:51 AM to 12:46 PM
Auspicious
Amrit Kaal
10:24 AM to 12:01 PM
Most Auspicious
Amrit Kaal (Second)
5:14 AM to 6:48 AM
Most Auspicious
Brahma Muhurat
4:02 AM to 4:42 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
3:46 PM to 5:30 PM
Yamaganda Kaal
8:51 AM to 10:35 AM
Durmuhurta First
8:09 AM to 9:05 AM
Every time above is computed for New Delhi around Tuesday, 1 June 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
Apara 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 Apara 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 Apara 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.
Worship Vishnu as Trivikrama
Bathe a metal idol or the Shaligram with water, panchamrit and water again (for a picture, sprinkle water with a flower), and worship Vishnu as Trivikrama, the Vamana who measured the three worlds in three strides. Offer sandalwood, yellow flowers, tulsi picked the day before, incense and a lamp, chanting Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.
Katha and aarti
Read or listen to the Apara 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.
Merit for those who died without rites
In the katha the sage Dhaumya gave the merit of this fast to a king who had died by violence and without his last rites. If your family wishes, offer the fast's merit on Dwadashi morning, before parana, to a relative who died suddenly or far from home, with water, a flower and a few sesame seeds.
Samagri · what to keep ready
Apara 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 Apara Ekadashi, add:
Sesame and water for the dedicationFor offering the fast's merit to the departed on Dwadashi, if your family keeps that custom.
Mantras · in Devanagari, with meaning
Apara 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. Apara Ekadashi's own:
Devatabhyah pitribhyash cha mahayogibhya eva cha Namah svadhayai svahayai nityam eva namo namah
Meaning: Salutation to the gods, to the ancestors and to the great yogis; salutation to Svadha and to Svaha, always, again and again. A verse widely recited at shraddha.
When and how: Three times on Dwadashi morning, with water and sesame, before offering the fast's merit to the departed, as the sage Dhaumya offered his to King Mahidhvaja.
Significance
Why Apara Ekadashi is kept
Its katha makes it a fast kept for someone else, and for someone beyond help: a sage gave its whole merit to a murdered king whose spirit could find no rest, and the king was released at once. So families offer it for a relative who died suddenly or violently, pour water at a peepal in that person's name, and try to let go of anger at whoever caused the death, as the sage chose pity over driving the spirit away.
It falls a fortnight before Nirjala, and many use it to prepare for that harder fast: water at the gate for passers-by, a peepal watered at dawn, a dip in a river or a few drops of Ganga jal in the bath. Vat Savitri and Shani Jayanti follow on the new moon a few days later. The katha closes with Krishna's word that the fast clears even grave wrongs, its merit equal to bathing at the holiest places at their holiest hours.
Upay · traditional practice
Apara Ekadashi upay: traditional remedies
Merit for the restless dead
As Dhaumya did for King Mahidhvaja, offer the fast's merit on Dwadashi to someone who died suddenly, violently or far from home, if your family wishes; it is a prayer for their peace.
Water at a peepal
The katha's spirit lived in a peepal. Pouring water at a peepal tree and lighting a lamp there, in memory of the story, suits the day.
Remember Trivikrama
Worship Vishnu as Trivikrama, who covered the worlds in three strides, and give three things before parana: water, food and a kind word.
Water before Nirjala
Apara comes in the hottest weeks, just before Nirjala Ekadashi. Set out water and buttermilk for workers and passers-by; the day's merit is counted as boundless, and so is thirst in May.
A dip, or Ganga jal
The Purana compares this fast's merit to bathing at the sacred places at their holiest times; those who can bathe in a holy river do so, and others add Ganga jal to the morning bath.
Kindness to those who wrong you
Dhaumya met a ghost that troubled travellers with pity instead of anger. Answer one harsh word today with patience.
The custom, in short
Apara 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 your family wishes, offer the fast's merit to someone who died suddenly or without rites.
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 speak ill of the dead; the katha's sage met even a restless spirit with compassion.
Across India
Apara Ekadashi customs and food
By region
Punjab, Haryana and Jammu
The day is kept as Bhadrakali Ekadashi.
Odisha
Jalakrida Ekadashi, when Jagannath's festival images are taken to the water.
North India
Apara or Achala Ekadashi, kept for Vishnu as Trivikrama, often with water given to a peepal.
Bhog, prasad and fasting 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.
Apara 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.
Apara Ekadashi across five years
Year
Date
Status
2024
Sunday, 2 June 2024
past
2025
Friday, 23 May 2025
past
2026This year
Wednesday, 13 May 2026
past
2027
Tuesday, 1 June 2027
upcoming
2028
Saturday, 20 May 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, Apara Ekadashi falls on Tuesday, 1 June 2027, with Ekadashi tithi running 10:02 AM (31 May) to 9:40 AM. It is the dark-fortnight Ekadashi of Jyeshtha in North India's purnimanta calendar (Vaishakha Krishna in the amanta one), the Ekadashi just before Nirjala, in the hottest weeks of the year.
Why does another calendar give a different Apara 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 Apara Ekadashi observed?
Apara Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the dark fortnight of Jyeshtha in the purnimanta reckoning — Vaishakha Krishna in the amanta one. Apara means "boundless", for the merit the Purana assigns it. It is also called Achala Ekadashi; in Punjab, Haryana and Jammu it is kept as Bhadrakali Ekadashi, and in Odisha as Jalakrida Ekadashi, when Jagannath's festival images are taken to the water. Vishnu is worshipped as Trivikrama, the Vamana form that measured the worlds.
Where does the Apara Ekadashi vrat katha come from?
It is told in the Brahmanda Purana, in Krishna's Ekadashi-mahatmya to Yudhishthira. The katha is retold in full above.
Is Apara Ekadashi on a different day for Smarta and Vaishnava (ISKCON)?
Not this year — both keep Tuesday, 1 June 2027. The Vaishnava rule reads Ekadashi at arunodaya, and Ekadashi already holds that day's arunodaya.
What is the Apara Ekadashi parana time?
Parana is on Dwadashi: in New Delhi, 2 Jun, 5:23 AM to 8:09 AM, once Hari Vasara has ended (3:22 PM). In the heat, drink water first and eat light; those offering the fast's merit to the departed do it just before parana.
What is the Apara Ekadashi vrat katha?
King Mahidhvaja was murdered by his jealous younger brother Vajradhvaja and buried secretly under a peepal. Dying by violence and without last rites, he could not move on and haunted the tree as a restless spirit. The sage Dhaumya, seeing who he was, took pity, taught him, kept the Apara Ekadashi himself and gave him its whole merit, and the king was released at once. The full katha is above.
What does Apara mean?
Apara means boundless, or beyond measure, for the merit the Brahmanda Purana assigns to the fast: as great, it says, as bathing at the most sacred places at their holiest times. The other name, Achala, means steady or unmoving.
Why is it also called Achala Ekadashi?
Achala is a second name for the same day, used in many North Indian calendars and vrat books; it means steady, unmoving. Apara and Achala are one Ekadashi, the dark-fortnight Ekadashi of Jyeshtha, with one katha and one vidhi.
What is Bhadrakali Ekadashi?
In Punjab, Haryana and Jammu, the day of Apara Ekadashi is kept as Bhadrakali Ekadashi. It is the same date; families there keep it in their own regional way alongside the Ekadashi fast.
What is the importance of Apara Ekadashi?
The Purana says its merit is boundless and that it clears even grave wrongs, and its katha tells how merit given to a king who died without rites brought him peace. So the day is kept both for one's own release and as an act of compassion for the dead.
How is the Apara Ekadashi vrat kept?
Eat one light meal on Dashami. On Ekadashi bathe, take the sankalp and worship Vishnu as Trivikrama with tulsi, yellow flowers and a lamp, read the Mahidhvaja katha and keep the fast, drinking water if you are not keeping it waterless. Water a peepal, keep part of the night awake, and on Dwadashi give, dedicate the merit if you wish and break the fast in the parana window.
What are the benefits of Apara Ekadashi?
The Brahmanda Purana promises boundless merit and release from grave wrongs, and these are the tradition's words, kept with faith rather than as a guarantee. The katha's own example is generous: the sage kept the fast for someone else, a man he had never known.
Who is Trivikrama, the form of Vishnu worshipped on Apara Ekadashi?
Trivikrama, the one of three strides, is Vishnu as Vamana grown to cosmic size: asked by King Bali for three paces of land, he covered the earth with one, the heavens with the second, and placed the third on Bali's bowed head. Apara is kept for Vishnu in this form.
Can the merit of the Apara fast be offered to someone who has died?
That is what the katha shows: Dhaumya offered his fast's merit to a dead king and freed him. On Dwadashi morning before parana, with water, a flower and a little sesame, name the person and offer it with a prayer for their peace. It is a family's choice, and needs no priest.
What should I eat on Apara Ekadashi in the summer heat?
Keep phalahar light and full of water: watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, mango and coconut water, with curd, buttermilk with rock salt and a little sabudana or makhana. Drink enough water unless you are keeping a waterless fast, and leave grain, dal, onion and garlic for the parana.
