Krishna paksha · Kartika · amanta reckoning

When is Utpanna Ekadashi 2026?

Utpanna Ekadashi 2026 is on Friday, 4 December. Parana, breaking the fast, is on 5 December, 06:57 to 09:10 in Mumbai.

Also called Utpatti 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 Mumbai.

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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 Mumbai

The date in Mumbai

Friday, 4 December 2026

Utpanna Ekadashi 2026 timings in Mumbai
TimingMumbaiWhat it is
Parana (breaking the fast), 5 Dec 202606:57 to 09:10The window is the first fifth of the daylight (pratahkala).

Utpanna Ekadashi is not a Gregorian date. It is Krishna paksha tithi 11 of Kartika 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
Kartika (amanta)
Tithi begins
3 Dec, 23:04
Tithi ends
4 Dec, 23:45
Decided at
Sunrise
Sunrise in Mumbai
4 Dec, 06:56

Sunrise in Mumbai falls at 06:56 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.

Krishna paksha · Margashirsha (purnimanta) · Kartika (amanta)

Utpanna Ekadashi 2026: Smarta and Vaishnava dates

Utpanna Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the dark (krishna) half of Margashirsha in the purnimanta reckoning used across North India, and of Kartika 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)
Friday, 4 December 2026 — 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
Friday, 4 December 2026 — 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 Friday, 4 December 2026 (4 Dec, 05:20) is already inside Ekadashi, not Dashami.

Every day above is computed for Mumbai 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

Utpanna Ekadashi vrat katha and significance

Utpanna Ekadashi is the day Ekadashi herself is said to have been born — utpanna means "arisen". It is the Ekadashi of the dark fortnight after Dev Uthani: Margashirsha Krishna in the purnimanta reckoning of North India, Kartika Krishna in the amanta one. Because the katha is the origin of every Ekadashi fast, many people who want to take up the twice-monthly vrat begin with this one, and the day is kept for Vishnu and for Ekadashi as a goddess.

The katha

Retold in brief from the Bhavishyottara Purana, in Krishna's account to Yudhishthira of how the Ekadashi fast began.

In the Satya Yuga a demon named Mura rose from the city of Chandravati and drove the gods out of heaven. Indra and the devas went first to Shiva, who sent them on to Vishnu, and Vishnu went out to fight.

He destroyed Mura's army, but the battle with Mura himself went on for a very long time. Wearied, Vishnu withdrew to a cave called Himavati near Badrikashrama and lay down to rest. Mura followed him there, meaning to kill him in his sleep.

As the demon raised his weapon, a radiant young woman, armed and fearsome, came forth from Vishnu's own body and challenged him. They fought, and she struck him down.

When Vishnu woke and saw Mura dead, he asked who had done it. She told him she had arisen from his own power to protect him. Pleased, Vishnu named her Ekadashi, because she was born on the eleventh tithi, and granted her a boon: whoever fasted on her day with devotion would be freed from wrongdoing and reach his abode. The Purana says that this is where the Ekadashi vrat begins — which is why this one is called Utpanna, the Ekadashi that was born.

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 · Mumbai

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 2026 with tithi and parana times

Muhurat · Mumbai

Utpanna Ekadashi muhurat

Utpanna 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 MumbaiWhat it is
Abhijit Muhurat 12:06 to 12:50 Auspicious
Amrit Kaal 05:02 to 06:43 Most Auspicious
Brahma Muhurat 05:13 to 06:05 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 Mumbai
Rahu Kaal 11:05 to 12:28
Yamaganda Kaal 15:14 to 16:37
Durmuhurta First 09:09 to 09:53
Durmuhurta Second 12:50 to 13:34
Varjyam 18:51 to 20:33

Every window above is computed for Mumbai on Friday, 4 December 2026, 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.

Utpanna 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, 26 November 2024 past
2025 Saturday, 15 November 2025 past
2026 Friday, 4 December 2026 upcoming
2027 Wednesday, 24 November 2027 upcoming
2028 Sunday, 12 November 2028 upcoming

Every row is computed for Mumbai 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 Utpanna Ekadashi?

Friday, 4 December 2026. It is Ekadashi of Krishna paksha in Kartika, and that tithi runs from 3 Dec, 23:04 to 4 Dec, 23:45.

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

Utpanna Ekadashi is the day Ekadashi herself is said to have been born — utpanna means "arisen". It is the Ekadashi of the dark fortnight after Dev Uthani: Margashirsha Krishna in the purnimanta reckoning of North India, Kartika Krishna in the amanta one. Because the katha is the origin of every Ekadashi fast, many people who want to take up the twice-monthly vrat begin with this one, and the day is kept for Vishnu and for Ekadashi as a goddess.

Where does the Utpanna Ekadashi vrat katha come from?

It is told in the Bhavishyottara Purana, in Krishna's account to Yudhishthira of how the Ekadashi fast began. The katha is retold in full above.

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

Not this year — both keep Friday, 4 December 2026. The Vaishnava rule reads Ekadashi at arunodaya, and Ekadashi already holds that day's arunodaya.