Aja Ekadashi 2027
Saturday, 28 August 2027

About Aja Ekadashi

Its katha is that of King Harishchandra.

Also called: Annada Ekadashi.

What it is kept for

An end to suffering, and what was lost given back, as it was to King Harishchandra.

Aja Ekadashi vrat katha

Harishchandra, the king who would not tell a lie, had given away his kingdom, sold his wife and son, and sold himself to work at a cremation ground. Years passed in that misery.

The sage Gautama found him there and told him to keep the Aja Ekadashi of Bhadrapada. He kept it. His suffering ended, his son, who had died, was restored to him, and he had his kingdom again.

Retold from the Ekadashi Mahatmya in the Uttara Khanda of the Padma Purana, where Shri Krishna tells Yudhishthira the story and the merit of each Ekadashi.

Vrat vidhi

Beyond that, it is kept as every Ekadashi is: one sattvik meal without rice on Dashami, the sankalp at dawn, Vishnu’s puja with tulsi picked the day before, the katha, and no grain until parana, with fruit, milk, sabudana, kuttu and singhara in its place. The Ekadashi page has every step and the full lists of what to eat and avoid.

When to break the fast

Hari Vasara, the first quarter of Dwadashi, is over by 28 Aug, 5:57 PM, before sunrise, so the fast is broken in pratahkal, the first fifth of the day: 5:58 AM to 8:31 AM on Sunday, 29 August, in New Delhi.

In 2028: Hari Vasara, the first quarter of Dwadashi, runs until 17 Aug, 9:19 AM, past the morning, and a fast is not broken at midday, so parana waits until after madhyahna: 1:44 PM to 4:21 PM on Thursday, 17 August 2028, in New Delhi.