Also called Papankusa Ekadashi, Pashankusha 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).
Papankusha Ekadashi is not a Gregorian date. It is Shukla paksha tithi 11 of Ashwin 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
Ashwin (amanta)
Tithi begins
10 Oct, 11:41 AM
Tithi ends
11 Oct, 2:09 PM
Decided at
Sunrise
Sunrise in New Delhi
11 Oct, 6:19 AM
Sunrise in New Delhi falls at 6:19 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 · Ashwin
Papankusha Ekadashi 2027: Smarta and Vaishnava dates
Listed here (Smarta, the sunrise rule)
Monday, 11 October 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
Monday, 11 October 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 Monday, 11 October 2027 (11 Oct, 4:43 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
Papankusha Ekadashi vrat katha and significance
Papankusha is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Ashwin — the first Ekadashi after Navratri and Dussehra. It is kept for Vishnu in his Padmanabha form, the lotus rising from his navel. The name joins papa, wrongdoing, and ankusha, the goad a mahout uses to turn an elephant: the day is understood as a check on one's own conduct. Beyond the fast, families spend it in japa of Vishnu's names and give grain, cloth, sesame or a lamp according to their means.
The katha
Retold in brief from the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, in the Ekadashi-mahatmya where Krishna tells each Ekadashi's story to Yudhishthira (some Hindi vrat-katha books place it in the Padma Purana).
In the Vindhya hills lived a fowler called Krodhana — "the wrathful" — and the name fitted the life. He hunted, robbed travellers on the mountain paths and spent his years in harm, never asking what would follow. When old age came, he dreamt one night that Yama's messengers were waiting for him, and the fear of it drove him up the hill to the ashram of the sage Angira.
He fell at the sage's feet and asked whether any road was left for a man who had done nothing but damage. Angira did not turn him away. The Ekadashi of the bright half of Ashwin was near, he said: keep it fully — fast through the day, stay awake through the night remembering Vishnu as Padmanabha, and on Dwadashi feed others before breaking the fast — and the weight of the past would be turned, as a goad turns an elephant.
Krodhana did exactly that. The Purana says the fast lifted his burden, and that at the end of his life he went not to Yama's city but to Vishnu's. Krishna closes the story by telling Yudhishthira that this is why the day is called Papankusha: it is the goad held over sin.
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.
Papankusha Ekadashi, the first Ekadashi after Dussehra, is kept for Vishnu as Padmanabha in the bright half of Ashwin; its name means the goad held over wrongdoing. In New Delhi it falls on Monday, 11 October 2027: the fast runs from sunrise to parana on Dwadashi, 12 Oct, 6:19 AM to 8:38 AM. The day is spent in japa of Vishnu's names, with gifts of grain, cloth, sesame or a lamp.
All Papankusha Ekadashi 2027 muhurat in New Delhi
Muhurat
Time in New Delhi
What it is for
Parana: the time to break the fast
12 Oct, 6:19 AM to 8:38 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 Papankusha 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
8:40 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
4:40 AM to 5:29 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
6:19 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)
Amrit6:19 AM to 7:46 AM
Shubh9:13 AM to 10:40 AM
Chal1:34 PM to 3:02 PM
Labh3:02 PM to 4:29 PM
Amrit4:29 PM to 5:56 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
5:56 PM to 8:25 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
11:43 PM to 12:32 AM (12 Oct)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
7:46 AM to 9:13 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
11:44 AM to 12:31 PM
Auspicious
Brahma Muhurat
4:40 AM to 5:29 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
7:46 AM to 9:13 AM
Yamaganda Kaal
10:40 AM to 12:07 PM
Durmuhurta First
12:31 PM to 1:17 PM
Durmuhurta Second
2:50 PM to 3:37 PM
Varjyam
12:20 AM to 2:06 AM
Every time above is computed for New Delhi around Monday, 11 October 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
Papankusha 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 Papankusha 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 Papankusha 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 Padmanabha
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 Padmanabha, the lotus rising from his navel, with sandalwood, lotus or yellow flowers, tulsi picked the day before, incense and a lamp, chanting Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.
Katha and aarti
Read or listen to the Papankusha 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 Vishnu's names
Families spend Papankusha in japa of Vishnu's names: the Vishnu Sahasranama, opening with the Shuklambaradharam verse, if you can, or a round of Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya on a tulsi mala at each of the day's pujas.
The goad: one restraint
Papankusha is the goad held over wrongdoing. Choose one habit to restrain, as a mahout's goad turns an elephant, and keep that restraint through the weeks to Diwali; give grain, cloth, sesame or a lamp according to your means.
Samagri · what to keep ready
Papankusha 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 Papankusha Ekadashi, add:
A lotus, if you can find oneFor Vishnu as Padmanabha, the lotus-naveled; yellow flowers otherwise.
The Vishnu SahasranamaFor the japa of Vishnu's names the day is spent in.
Grain, cloth, sesame or a lamp for daanThe day's customary gifts, according to one's means.
Mantras · in Devanagari, with meaning
Papankusha 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. Papankusha Ekadashi's own:
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 before the worship; the verse names Vishnu padmanabham, the lotus-naveled, the very form Papankusha is kept for.
Shuklambaradharam: the opening verse of the Vishnu Sahasranama
Meaning: Meditate on the four-armed Vishnu, clothed in white, bright as the moon, with a gracious face, so that every obstacle is calmed.
When and how: Once before reading the Vishnu Sahasranama or beginning any part of the puja.
Significance
Why Papankusha Ekadashi is kept
It is the Ekadashi for people who think it is too late. Its katha is of an old fowler who had lived by hunting and robbery and who, frightened by a dream of Yama's messengers, climbed to a sage's ashram and asked whether any road was left. He was not turned away: one fast, a night remembering Vishnu and a meal for others on Dwadashi were enough to change where his life ended. So the day is kept by choosing one restraint and holding to it, however late in life.
It comes in the first cool days after Dussehra. Sharad Purnima, when kheer is left out under the full moon, follows a few days later, and with it begins Kartik, the month of dawn baths and lamps, so this fast is often the first step into a month of practice. The katha's last word is that the fowler went not to Yama's city but to Vishnu's.
Upay · traditional practice
Papankusha Ekadashi upay: traditional remedies
The thousand names
Read the Vishnu Sahasranama once in the day, or chant Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya through it; japa of Vishnu's names is the day's own practice.
One restraint, held like a goad
Pick one habit, harsh speech, a temper, an indulgence, and hold it in check from today to Diwali, as the goad turns the elephant.
Grain, cloth, sesame or a lamp
Give one of the day's customary gifts according to your means; a lamp given to a temple in Ashwin begins the season of lamps that ends with Diwali.
A lotus for Padmanabha
Offer Vishnu a lotus, or lotus seeds, for his Padmanabha form; yellow flowers if no lotus can be found.
Feed before parana
Angira told Krodhana to feed others on Dwadashi before breaking the fast. Give a meal to someone in need before your own.
It is never too late
Krodhana came to the sage only in old age, after a life of harm, and was not turned away. If you have put off a change for years, begin it today.
The custom, in short
Papankusha 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.
Spend the day in japa of Vishnu's names.
Give grain, cloth, sesame or a lamp according to your means.
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 harm any creature, even in anger; the katha's fowler lived by harm.
Across India
Papankusha 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.
Papankusha 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.
Papankusha Ekadashi across five years
Year
Date
Status
2024
Monday, 14 October 2024
past
2025
Friday, 3 October 2025
past
2026This year
Thursday, 22 October 2026
past
2027
Monday, 11 October 2027
upcoming
2028
Friday, 29 September 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, Papankusha Ekadashi falls on Monday, 11 October 2027, and Ekadashi tithi runs 11:41 AM (10 Oct) to 2:09 PM. It is the bright-half Ekadashi of Ashwin, the first Ekadashi after Dussehra, and it comes four days before Sharad Purnima.
Why does another calendar give a different Papankusha 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 Papankusha Ekadashi observed?
Papankusha is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Ashwin — the first Ekadashi after Navratri and Dussehra. It is kept for Vishnu in his Padmanabha form, the lotus rising from his navel. The name joins papa, wrongdoing, and ankusha, the goad a mahout uses to turn an elephant: the day is understood as a check on one's own conduct. Beyond the fast, families spend it in japa of Vishnu's names and give grain, cloth, sesame or a lamp according to their means.
Where does the Papankusha Ekadashi vrat katha come from?
It is told in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, in the Ekadashi-mahatmya where Krishna tells each Ekadashi's story to Yudhishthira (some Hindi vrat-katha books place it in the Padma Purana). The katha is retold in full above.
Is Papankusha Ekadashi on a different day for Smarta and Vaishnava (ISKCON)?
Not this year — both keep Monday, 11 October 2027. The Vaishnava rule reads Ekadashi at arunodaya, and Ekadashi already holds that day's arunodaya.
What is the Papankusha Ekadashi parana time?
Papankusha's fast ends on Dwadashi: in New Delhi the parana window is 12 Oct, 6:19 AM to 8:38 AM, beginning once Hari Vasara is over (8:40 PM). As Angira told Krodhana, feed someone first, then break the fast with a tulsi leaf and water.
What is the Papankusha Ekadashi vrat katha?
Krodhana, a fowler of the Vindhya hills, lived by hunting, robbing travellers and harming others. In old age he dreamt that Yama's messengers were waiting, and in fear climbed to the sage Angira's ashram. Angira did not turn him away but told him to keep the bright-half Ekadashi of Ashwin: fast, keep the night awake remembering Padmanabha, and feed others on Dwadashi. He did, and the Purana says he reached Vishnu's abode. The full katha is above.
What does Papankusha mean?
It joins papa, wrongdoing, and ankusha, the hooked goad a mahout uses to turn an elephant. The Ekadashi is the goad held over sin: a day for checking and turning one's own conduct, as the katha's fowler was turned.
What is the significance of Papankusha Ekadashi?
It is the first Ekadashi after Navratri and Dussehra, and in its katha the sage Angira promises that it turns the weight of past deeds as a goad turns an elephant. Families keep it with japa of Vishnu's names and gifts of grain, cloth, sesame or a lamp, and many take a restraint from it into the Diwali season.
Who is Padmanabha, the form of Vishnu worshipped on Papankusha?
Padmanabha, the lotus-naveled, is Vishnu lying on Shesha with a lotus rising from his navel, on which Brahma sits to create the world. The Shantakaram verse names him padmanabham, and the great temple at Thiruvananthapuram is his.
How is the Papankusha Ekadashi vrat kept?
Eat once on Dashami. On Ekadashi bathe, take the sankalp and worship Vishnu as Padmanabha with a lotus or yellow flowers, tulsi and a lamp, read Krodhana's katha and spend the day in japa of Vishnu's names. Give grain, cloth, sesame or a lamp, keep part of the night awake, and on Dwadashi feed someone before breaking the fast in the parana window.
What should be given in daan on Papankusha Ekadashi?
The day's customary gifts are grain, cloth, sesame or a lamp, given according to one's means, and a meal for someone in need on Dwadashi before parana. A lamp given to a temple in Ashwin is a fitting start to the season of lamps that ends with Diwali.
Which mantra is chanted on Papankusha Ekadashi?
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya is the day's japa on a tulsi mala, and those who can read the Vishnu Sahasranama, beginning with the Shuklambaradharam verse. The Shantakaram verse, which names Vishnu padmanabham, opens the puja. All are in the mantra section.
What can I eat on Papankusha Ekadashi?
In the mild weather after the monsoon, phalahar can be fuller: fruit, milk, makhana kheer, sabudana, sweet potato and singhara or kuttu flour where the family allows, with rock salt. Many keep it lighter, as the Diwali weeks of sweets lie ahead. No grain, dal, onion or garlic until the parana.
Which aarti is sung on Papankusha Ekadashi?
Om Jai Jagdish Hare, given in full above, after the morning puja and with the evening lamps; with Navratri just over, many homes still have their lamps out and light extra ones for Vishnu tonight. Some add the Ekadashi Mata aarti from their vrat book.
