Vrat · Ashwin Shukla Ekadashi
Pashankusha Ekadashi 2026
Ashvin Shukla Ekadashi is Pashankusha Ekadashi: the Ekadashi just after Dussehra. A vow that keeps sin in check, like a goad!
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Times are for Nashik. The app gives times for your city.
Quick facts
- Also known asPapankusha Ekadashi
- WhereAll of India
- Puja forPadmanabha (Vishnu)
- In one lineWhat the goad is to an elephant, this vow is to sin: it freed even a hunter who had lived by violence.
Pashankusha Ekadashi, in a little more detail
- 01
About the festival
Pasha is a noose and ankusha the goad that steers an elephant. Even a sin as big as an elephant can be turned by this vow, it's believed.
Today Vishnu is worshipped as Padmanabha, the one with the lotus at his navel. The fast is the usual one, with a night vigil and chanting his names, broken on Dwadashi.
Giving matters on this Ekadashi too: food, sesame, water, an umbrella and a pair of sandals, as you can afford. Today's lesson: it's never too late. Decide to turn, and you find the way.
- 02
The story of Krodhana the hunter
In the Vindhya hills lived a cruel hunter named Krodhana. All his life he lived by violence and killed animals.
In his old age he began to fear death and Yama's punishment. He went to the hermitage of the sage Angira and asked: is there any way to escape hell?
Angira told him to keep Pashankusha Ekadashi in the bright half of Ashvin. Krodhana kept the fast, the vigil and Vishnu's puja with all his heart. His sins were checked and destroyed, the way a goad checks an elephant, and at the end of his life he went to Vaikuntha.
- 03
In Maharashtra and beyond
Navratri and Dussehra have just ended, and Kojagiri Purnima is four days away. Among these festival days, this Ekadashi is a quiet day of fasting.
At home: the fast, Vitthal puja, and Hari's name at night. Some give away food or clothes today.
The month is the same in Maharashtra and the north: a bright fortnight has one name in both systems, so everywhere this is Ashvin Shukla Ekadashi.
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 Nashik.
Dates by city in 2026
In these cities the dates below differ from Nashik; the rest are the same.
Dates in 2027
1 times in 2027, timed for Nashik.
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