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Shukla paksha · Jyeshtha · amanta reckoning

When is Nirjala Ekadashi 2027?

Nirjala Ekadashi 2027 is on Monday, 14 June. Parana, breaking the fast, is on 15 June, 13:27 to 16:14 in Kathmandu.

Also called Bhimseni Ekadashi, Bhim Ekadashi, Pandava Ekadashi, Nirjal Ekadashi. Those are the same observance and the same date, so they share this page rather than competing with it from a second URL.

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Timings on this page are computed for Kathmandu.

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Outside India

The whole table below is recomputed for the city you pick. That is not cosmetic: an observance decided at moonrise, such as Karwa Chauth, can genuinely fall on a different day in two cities, and the moment the fast ends differs by more than an hour across India.

Computed for Kathmandu

The date in Kathmandu

Monday, 14 June 2027

Nirjala Ekadashi 2027 timings in Kathmandu
TimingKathmanduWhat it is
Parana (breaking the fast), 15 Jun 202713:27 to 16:14Hari Vasara runs past the morning, so parana is kept after madhyahna (midday), in the afternoon window.

Nirjala Ekadashi is not a Gregorian date. It is Shukla paksha tithi 11 of Jyeshtha 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
Jyeshtha (amanta)
Tithi begins
14 Jun, 02:27
Tithi ends
15 Jun, 02:24
Decided at
Sunrise
Sunrise in Kathmandu
14 Jun, 05:07

Sunrise in Kathmandu falls at 05:07 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 · Jyeshtha

Nirjala Ekadashi 2027: Smarta and Vaishnava dates

Listed here (Smarta, the sunrise rule)
Monday, 14 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
Monday, 14 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 Monday, 14 June 2027 (14 Jun, 03:31) is already inside Ekadashi, not Dashami.

Every day above is computed for Kathmandu 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

Nirjala Ekadashi vrat katha and significance

Also known as Bhimseni Ekadashi, Pandava Ekadashi.

Nirjala Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Jyeshtha, in the hottest weeks of the North Indian year, and it is kept nirjala — without even water — from sunrise to the next day's parana. It is also called Bhimseni or Pandava Ekadashi after the katha below. Gifts of water pitchers, hand fans, umbrellas, sherbet and grain are customary, and water is set out for passers-by. A waterless fast in that heat is demanding, and many families keep a lighter form for the elderly, the unwell and the pregnant.

The katha

Retold in brief from the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, in the Ekadashi-mahatmya, where Vyasa speaks with Bhima (the story is also retold in many Hindi vrat-katha books as part of the Mahabharata tradition).

The Pandavas kept every Ekadashi — Yudhishthira, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva, Draupadi and their mother Kunti all fasted twice a month. Bhima could not. A fire burned in his belly, he said, that only food could quiet; he could give to the poor and worship Vishnu, but a day without eating was beyond him.

Troubled, he went to the sage Vyasa and asked whether there was any way for a man like him to share the merit of the Ekadashis his family kept. Vyasa did not tell him to stop eating altogether.

There is one day in the year, Vyasa said: the Ekadashi of the bright half of Jyeshtha. Keep that one completely — no food and no water, except the sip taken for achamana, from sunrise until sunrise on Dwadashi — and break the fast after feeding others and giving water and gifts. That single fast holds the merit of all twenty-four.

Bhima agreed and kept it, and it became known by his name, Bhimseni Ekadashi. Vyasa adds that whoever keeps this fast with devotion is met at the end of life by Vishnu's messengers rather than Yama's.

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 · Kathmandu

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

Muhurat · Kathmandu

Nirjala Ekadashi muhurat

Nirjala Ekadashi is decided at sunrise, which is an instant rather than a window, so there is no anchor window to intersect with the tithi. The generally auspicious windows of the day are below, and Abhijit is the one most commonly used where an observance names no muhurat of its own.

Auspicious windows that day

WindowTime in KathmanduWhat it is
Abhijit Muhurat 11:36 to 12:31 Auspicious
Amrit Kaal 11:11 to 12:49 Most Auspicious
Brahma Muhurat 03:46 to 04:26 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.

WindowTime in Kathmandu
Rahu Kaal 06:51 to 08:35
Yamaganda Kaal 10:19 to 12:03
Durmuhurta First 12:31 to 13:27
Durmuhurta Second 15:18 to 16:13
Varjyam 23:32 to 01:11

Every window above is computed for Kathmandu on Monday, 14 June 2027, from that day's sunrise, sunset and the following sunrise. The Vedic day runs sunrise to sunrise, so a window whose clock time falls after midnight still belongs to the date named above rather than to the one the wall clock has turned over to.

Nirjala 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.

YearDateStatus
2024 Tuesday, 18 June 2024 past
2025 Friday, 6 June 2025 past
2026 Thursday, 25 June 2026 past
2027 Monday, 14 June 2027 upcoming
2028 Saturday, 3 June 2028 upcoming

Every row is computed for Kathmandu 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.

  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 Nirjala Ekadashi?

Monday, 14 June 2027. It is Ekadashi of Shukla paksha in Jyeshtha, and that tithi runs from 14 Jun, 02:27 to 15 Jun, 02:24.

Why does another calendar give a different Nirjala 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 Nirjala Ekadashi observed?

Nirjala Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Jyeshtha, in the hottest weeks of the North Indian year, and it is kept nirjala — without even water — from sunrise to the next day's parana. It is also called Bhimseni or Pandava Ekadashi after the katha below. Gifts of water pitchers, hand fans, umbrellas, sherbet and grain are customary, and water is set out for passers-by. A waterless fast in that heat is demanding, and many families keep a lighter form for the elderly, the unwell and the pregnant.

Where does the Nirjala Ekadashi vrat katha come from?

It is told in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, in the Ekadashi-mahatmya, where Vyasa speaks with Bhima (the story is also retold in many Hindi vrat-katha books as part of the Mahabharata tradition). The katha is retold in full above.

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

Not this year — both keep Monday, 14 June 2027. The Vaishnava rule reads Ekadashi at arunodaya, and Ekadashi already holds that day's arunodaya.