Vrat · Margashirsha Shukla Ekadashi
Mokshada Ekadashi 2026
Margashirsha Shukla Ekadashi is Mokshada Ekadashi, and it is also Gita Jayanti. This is the day Krishna told Arjuna the Gita at Kurukshetra!
Next date
Times are for Kolhapur. The app gives times for your city.
Quick facts
- Also known asGita Jayanti, Matsya Dwadashi
- WhereAll of India; the big Gita Jayanti festival is at Kurukshetra
- Puja forVishnu, and Krishna
- In one lineThe Ekadashi that grants moksha: a vow for the release of your forefathers, and the birthday of the Gita.
Mokshada Ekadashi, in a little more detail
- 01
About the festival
Mokshada means the one who grants moksha. You keep this Ekadashi for yourself, but also for your forefathers: that's what sets the day apart.
And it's Gita Jayanti too: at the start of the Mahabharata war, Krishna told Arjuna the seven hundred verses of the Bhagavad Gita. The fast is the usual one, broken on Dwadashi.
The heart of the Gita is simple: do your work, and let go of worrying about the result. Read even one chapter today, and you've marked the day well!
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King Vaikhanasa and his father
King Vaikhanasa of Champaka was a ruler who looked after his people. One night he dreamed that his father was suffering in hell, begging his son to set him free.
The king asked his Brahmins, and they sent him to the sage Parvata. The sage looked in meditation and saw why: in his life the father had neglected his duty to his wife, and this was the result. There's one remedy, he said: the Mokshada Ekadashi vow.
The king kept the vow with his wife, his children and his relatives, and offered its merit to his father. At that moment the father was freed from hell, and the gods carried him to heaven.
- 03
In Maharashtra and beyond
At home: the fast, a puja to Vishnu and Krishna, and the Gita read aloud. Some read the whole Gita today, some just a chapter.
In Maharashtra the Gita brings the Dnyaneshwari to mind too: Sant Dnyaneshwar's commentary on the Gita in Marathi. In many homes and temples it's read through today as well.
At Kurukshetra in Haryana, where the Gita was spoken, the Gita Mahotsav fills the banks of the Brahma Sarovar: hundreds of stalls, the Gita aarti, and the forty-eight kos parikrama of Kurukshetra.
How to do the puja
In short: A light meal on Dashami, the fast and the Name on Ekadashi, and parana after sunrise on Dwadashi.
- 1Eat light the day before, on Dashami.One simple meal is enough. Nothing heavy at night, so your stomach is light on Ekadashi.
- 2Pick the tulsi leaves for the puja the day before.In many homes tulsi is not plucked on Ekadashi.
- 3Bathe in the morning on Ekadashi and make your sankalp for the fast.Decide in your mind: no water at all, water only, fruit and milk, or one fasting meal.
- 4Worship Vishnu or Vitthal.Offer a lamp, incense, sandalwood paste, flowers and tulsi leaves, with fruit or milk as naivedya.
- 5Keep the fast you chose through the day.Leave out rice, wheat, jowar, bajra and dals. Offer your fasting food to God first, then eat.
- 6Spend the day with the name.The Haripath, the Vishnu Sahasranama, bhajans, or the story of that Ekadashi on this page.
- 7In the evening, light the lamp again and do the aarti.Many stay up singing bhajans (jagran). If you work tomorrow, a little while is enough.
- 8Break the fast after sunrise on Dwadashi.If your panchang gives a parana time, keep to it. Offer naivedya first, then eat.
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Frequently asked questions
What can I eat on the fast?
It depends on the fast you keep: nothing, water only, fruit and milk, or one fasting meal. A fasting meal can have sabudana, vari bhagar, sweet potato, potato and peanuts. No grains and no dals.
Can I drink water?
Yes, unless you keep it nirjala. The strictest fast has no water until sunrise on Dwadashi, but most people keep a lighter one.
When do I break the fast?
After sunrise on Dwadashi: this is the parana. If the first part of Dwadashi, the harivasar, runs past sunrise, wait until it ends. Your panchang gives the time.
Why does Ekadashi sometimes have two dates?
When a tithi is lost or doubled, the Smarta and Bhagwat (Warkari) traditions follow different rules, so their Ekadashis can fall on different days. Follow your family’s tradition.
Who need not fast?
The sick, pregnant women and anyone with a health problem need not fast, nor young children and the very old. They can have milk and fruit and keep the day with prayer. If you have a medical condition, ask your doctor first.
What if I break the fast by mistake?
Don't worry. Ask God's forgiveness, spend the rest of the day in prayer, and keep the next Ekadashi well.
Dates in 2026
1 times this year, timed for Kolhapur.
Dates by city in 2026
In these cities the dates below differ from Kolhapur; the rest are the same.
Dates in 2027
1 times in 2027, timed for Kolhapur.
Set a reminder in the app
The app sends a notice the day before and on the day, even offline.