Why Is Vaishnava Putrada Ekadashi 2027 Different?

When a Fast of Devotion Meets the Precision of the Panchang

In the Vaishnava tradition, Ekadashi is not merely a fast. It is called Hari Vasara, the day of Lord Hari. For a Vaishnava devotee, it is the day to set everything aside and become absorbed in the name, form and pastimes of the Lord. Because of this spirit, the Vaishnava sampradayas (traditions) have kept the rules for reckoning Ekadashi very precise and pure. Because of these rules, the Vaishnava Ekadashi sometimes falls a day after the ordinary Smarta Ekadashi.

This is what is happening with Pausha Putrada Ekadashi in 2027. The Smarta Putrada Ekadashi falls on Monday, 18 January, while the Vaishnava Pausha Putrada Ekadashi will be observed on Tuesday, 19 January.

Detail	Information
Name of the fast	Vaishnava Pausha Putrada Ekadashi
Date	19 January 2027
Day	Tuesday
Hindu month	Paush
Paksha (fortnight)	Shukla Paksha (waxing fortnight)
Tithi (lunar day)	Ekadashi, turning into Dwadashi some time after sunrise
Smarta Putrada Ekadashi	18 January 2027, Monday
Day of parana (breaking the fast)	20 January 2027, Wednesday
Rule for parana	After sunrise and before Dwadashi ends
Position of the Moon	Taurus, Rohini nakshatra
Position of the Sun	Capricorn (Makar)
Sunrise in Delhi	Approximately 7:15 in the morning
Deity worshipped	Lord Vishnu, Shri Krishna

Budha Pradosh Vrat also falls on 20 January and it is observed on the Trayodashi tithi. This means that on that day the Dwadashi tithi will end after some time and turn into Trayodashi. In the Vaishnava tradition, breaking the fast within Dwadashi is considered very important. So look carefully at the parana time given in the Panchang of your sampradaya or temple and break the fast within it.

Main Observances at a Glance

• Restraint and sattvic prasad from the evening of Dashami
• Complete avoidance of grains, pulses and beans on Ekadashi
• Bathing in Brahma Muhurat (the hour before dawn) and service to Tulsi and the Lord
• Chanting the holy name, kirtan and hearing the Shrimad Bhagavatam
• Avoiding sleep during the day and keeping a night vigil
• Offering bhog to the Lord within Dwadashi and breaking the fast with that prasad

Why Does the Vaishnava Ekadashi Differ From the Smarta Ekadashi?

The Vaishnava tradition gives the greatest importance to the purity of Ekadashi. According to this tradition, Ekadashi is fixed not only by sunrise but by Arunodaya. Arunodaya is the period about 96 minutes before sunrise, when the first redness appears in the sky.

If even a small trace of Dashami tithi is present at Arunodaya, that Ekadashi is called Dashami viddha. Viddha means affected by contact. According to the Vaishnava scriptures, the fast is not kept on an Ekadashi touched by Dashami and is moved to the next day. The idea behind this is that a fast offered to the Lord should be completely pure, with no mixing of another tithi.

In the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, the Hari Bhakti Vilasa compiled by Shri Sanatana Goswami is regarded as the main authority on Vaishnava conduct. It describes the rules of Ekadashi in great detail. Similarly, the Shri sampradaya, Madhva sampradaya, Nimbarka sampradaya and Vallabha sampradaya each have their own traditions, in which the rules for reckoning Ekadashi may differ slightly.

Sampradaya	Principal Acharya	Main deity
Shri sampradaya	Shri Ramanujacharya	Lakshmi Narayana
Madhva sampradaya	Shri Madhvacharya	Shri Krishna, Vishnu
Nimbarka sampradaya	Shri Nimbarkacharya	Radha Krishna
Vallabha sampradaya	Shri Vallabhacharya	Shrinathji, Bal Krishna
Gaudiya sampradaya	Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu	Radha Krishna

So every Vaishnava devotee should choose the day of the fast according to the Panchang of their own sampradaya or temple.

The Story of King Ambarisha: A Wonderful Episode of Ekadashi and Dwadashi

In the Vaishnava tradition, the most famous story explaining the importance of Ekadashi is that of King Ambarisha, told in the ninth canto of the Shrimad Bhagavatam. The story is especially important because it also makes clear the rule of breaking the fast within Dwadashi.

King Ambarisha ruled the seven continents but his heart was set not on the world but on the Lord. With his speech he sang the Lord's glories, with his hands he served the temple, with his ears he heard the Lord's stories and with his eyes he beheld the Lord. He kept every Ekadashi fast with full discipline.

Once the king kept a special year long vow of Ekadashi and Dwadashi. At its completion, on Dwadashi, just as he was about to break his fast, the sage Durvasa arrived with his disciples. The king welcomed him with respect and invited him to eat. Durvasa said he would first bathe in the Yamuna and then return and he left.

The sage was very late in returning. The Dwadashi tithi was about to end. The king faced a dilemma of dharma. If he ate without his guest, the guest would be insulted. And if he did not break the fast within Dwadashi, the vow would be broken. Then, on the advice of the Brahmins, the king broke the fast by drinking only water, because the scriptures regard drinking water as both eating and not eating.

When Durvasa returned and learned of this, he became furious. He created a terrible demoness from a lock of his hair and sent her to kill the king. The king stood calmly, because he had complete faith in the Lord. At that moment the Lord's Sudarshana Chakra appeared, destroyed the demoness and then began to chase Durvasa.

Durvasa went for protection to Brahma, to Shiva and finally to Lord Vishnu himself. The Lord said, "I am under the control of my devotees. The devotees are my heart and I am the heart of the devotees. Only Ambarisha can protect you." At last Durvasa returned to Ambarisha. The king humbly praised the Sudarshana Chakra and saved the sage. All this time the king himself had not eaten, because he had been waiting for his guest to return.

The Messages of the Story

• The Ekadashi fast is complete surrender to the Lord
• Breaking the fast within Dwadashi is an essential part of the vow
• The Lord himself protects a true devotee
• Pride, even that of an ascetic, bows in the end
• The greatest qualities of a devotee are humility and forgiveness

Vaishnava Food Rules for Ekadashi

In the Vaishnava tradition, the food rules for Ekadashi can be stricter than the general ones. They vary by sampradaya but the following are commonly followed.

Items to avoid	Items that may be taken
All grains such as rice, wheat, barley and millet	Fruits and dry fruits
All pulses such as moong, arhar, chana and urad	Milk, curd butter and ghee
Beans such as peas and rajma	Some vegetables such as potato, sweet potato and arbi
Flour made from grains and gram flour	Buckwheat, water chestnut and amaranth flour
Onion, garlic and non vegetarian food	Rock salt, black pepper and cumin
Alcohol and intoxicants	Coconut and peanuts

Many Gaudiya Vaishnava devotees also give up certain spices on this day. Those who are able keep a nirjala fast, without even water. But Vaishnava Acharyas have always said that the root purpose of the fast is to remember the Lord more. If hunger turns the mind away from the Lord towards worrying about food, it is better to take fruits and keep the mind on devotion.

The Worship and Service Vidhi of Vaishnava Putrada Ekadashi

1. On the evening of 18 January, take sattvic prasad before sunset and make the vow for the next day's fast.
2. On 19 January, wake in Brahma Muhurat, bathe and apply tilak.
3. Offer water to Tulsi Maharani and walk around her. Remember that Tulsi leaves are not plucked on Ekadashi.
4. Perform the Mangala Aarti (dawn worship) of Lord Shri Krishna or Vishnu.
5. Bathe the deity with panchamrit and adorn him with new clothes and flowers.
6. Offer Ekadashi bhog of fruits, dry fruits and milk preparations, with Tulsi leaves plucked in advance.
7. Chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Devotees of the Gaudiya tradition chant more rounds than usual on this day.
8. Read the Shrimad Bhagavatam, especially the story of Ambarisha or the Bhagavad Gita.
9. Read or listen to the story of Putrada Ekadashi.
10. Perform the evening aarti and kirtan.
11. Keep a night vigil with devotional songs and stories of the Lord.
12. On 20 January after sunrise, offer grain bhog to the Lord and break the fast with that prasad before Dwadashi ends.

Main Mantras

Mantra	Meaning	Purpose	Count
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare	A calling out to the Lord and his divine energy through the names Hare, Krishna and Rama	The Hare Krishna Mahamantra, for pure devotion	Rounds according to tradition
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya	Salutations to Lord Vasudeva	Surrender to Lord Vasudeva	108 times
Om Devakisuta Govinda Vasudeva Jagatpate, Dehi Me Tanayam Krishna Tvamaham Sharanam Gatah	O son of Devaki, Govinda, Vasudeva, Lord of the universe, Krishna, grant me a child, I take refuge in you	Santana Gopala mantra	108 times

The Kali Santarana Upanishad describes the Hare Krishna Mahamantra as the most powerful name mantra for the Kali Yuga. It contains only three names of the Lord, Hare, Krishna and Rama, repeated 16 times. In the Vaishnava tradition, Ekadashi is regarded as a special day for chanting the holy name.

The Astrological Significance of Vaishnava Putrada Ekadashi

A very beautiful alignment forms on the Vaishnava Putrada Ekadashi of 2027. On this day the Moon will be in Rohini nakshatra. Rohini is the very nakshatra in which Lord Shri Krishna was born. Rohini nakshatra holds special importance on Janmashtami too. So the Ekadashi of Krishna's devotees falls in Krishna's own birth nakshatra.

The Moon is also in Taurus, the sign of its exaltation. The symbol of Taurus is the bull and the sign is associated with cows, farming and nourishment. For the worship of Gopala Krishna, the protector of cows, this position is especially meaningful.

For Vaishnava householders fasting with the wish for children, this alignment is also auspicious. In astrology the Moon signifies the mother and the womb and children are judged from the fifth house and Jupiter. A strong Moon together with the worship of Lord Vishnu, regarded as the presiding deity of Jupiter, can be considered auspicious for the blessing of children.

The day is a Tuesday and the Sun is in Capricorn. The firmness of Mars gives strength for a strict fast and a night vigil, while the Sun in Capricorn points to austerity and restraint.

Astrological element	Position	Indication
Nakshatra	Rohini	The birth nakshatra of Shri Krishna
Moon	Exalted in Taurus	Steadiness of mind, motherhood
Sun	Capricorn	Austerity and restraint
Weekday	Tuesday	Firm resolve
Tithi	Ekadashi into Dwadashi	Hari Vasara and the Lord's beloved tithi

Benefits of the Vaishnava Ekadashi Fast

• Grace of Lord Shri Krishna and Vishnu
• Growth of pure devotion and love for the holy name
• The belief in the fulfilment of the wish for children
• Shedding of sins and purification of the mind
• Restraint of the senses and inner strength
• Love, peace and devotion to the Lord in the family

Dos and Donts

Do	Do not
Fast according to your sampradaya's Panchang	Do not eat grains, pulses or beans
Serve and walk around Tulsi	Do not pluck Tulsi leaves on Ekadashi
Chant the holy name and sing kirtan	Do not sleep during the day
Hear the Shrimad Bhagavatam	Do not criticise any tradition
Break the fast within Dwadashi	Do not break the fast after Dwadashi has passed
Honour guests and Vaishnavas	Avoid anger and pride

When a Devotee's Purity Wins the Heart of the Lord

Vaishnava Putrada Ekadashi teaches that precision in devotion is also a form of love. Just as a lover carefully prepares every gift for the beloved, a Vaishnava devotee wishes to keep the fast pure in every way. The story of King Ambarisha reminds us that the Sudarshana Chakra itself appears to protect such a devotee. On 19 January 2027, when the Moon is in Rohini, the birth nakshatra of Shri Krishna, this fast kept with the holy name, service to Tulsi and sincere prayer can open the door to the blessing of children, peace and the love of the Lord in a devotee's life. The Lord says that the devotee is his heart and one who becomes his heart has nothing left to fear.

FAQ

When is Vaishnava Pausha Putrada Ekadashi 2027?

Vaishnava Pausha Putrada Ekadashi 2027 falls on Tuesday, 19 January. The Smarta Putrada Ekadashi falls on 18 January.

Why does the Vaishnava Ekadashi fall a day later?

In the Vaishnava tradition, if a trace of Dashami is present at Arunodaya, the Ekadashi is regarded as Dashami viddha and the fast is kept on the next day.

When should the Vaishnava Putrada Ekadashi fast be broken?

Break the fast on 20 January after sunrise and before Dwadashi ends. Check the exact time in your sampradaya's Panchang.

What should not be eaten on Vaishnava Ekadashi?

All grains, pulses, beans, onion, garlic and non vegetarian food are given up on this day. Fruits, milk and fasting foods such as buckwheat may be taken.

Why is the story of King Ambarisha read on Ekadashi?

The story of King Ambarisha shows the glory of the Ekadashi fast and the importance of breaking it within Dwadashi and it shows that the Lord himself protects his devotee.