Jaya Ekadashi 2026

Quick facts

• Also known asBhaimi Ekadashi, Maghi Ekadashi
• WhereAll of India; in Maharashtra, Pandharpur's Maghi yatra
• Puja forVishnu (Madhava); Vitthal in Maharashtra
• In one lineMalyavan and Pushpavati, made pishachas by Indra’s curse, were freed by this Ekadashi.

Jaya Ekadashi, in a little more detail

1. 01

   About the festival

   Jaya means victory. This Ekadashi's victory is over a curse: it's believed to lift the weight of a wrong once done.

   In the story both the fast and the night awake happened without anyone meaning them, and still they bore fruit. So today the night's bhajans count as much as the fast. It's broken on Dwadashi, as always.

   And a small lesson: Malyavan and Pushpavati were so taken with each other that they forgot the work in their hands. Love is a fine thing, but respect the job you took on too.

2. 02

   Malyavan and Pushpavati

   In Nandana, the garden of heaven, Indra's evening of music was in full swing. Malyavan, son of Indra's chief singer Chitrasena, was singing, and the apsara Pushpavati was dancing. They fell for each other so hard that he lost the note and she lost the beat.

   Indra was furious, and cursed them both: go and live on earth as pishachas. They fell onto a Himalayan peak. They could no longer taste or smell, and the cold froze them to the bone. They passed their days shivering in a cave.

   One Jaya Ekadashi, sunk in misery, neither of them drank water or ate a thing. That night, under a pipal tree, they held each other against the cold and stayed awake, and without knowing it kept a full Ekadashi. At dawn on Dwadashi their heavenly forms came back. When they reached Indra, he said: you have kept Vishnu's vow, and now even I must honour you.

3. 03

   In Maharashtra and beyond

   At Pandharpur, Magha Shukla Ekadashi brings the Maghi yatra. It's not as big as Ashadhi or Kartiki, but varkaris still bathe in the Chandrabhaga and go for Vitthal's darshan.

   At home: the fast, Vitthal puja, and bhajans at night. In the story it was the night awake that bore fruit, so in some places the Lord’s name is sung all night.

   In some places it is called Bhaimi Ekadashi. A Shukla-paksha month is the same in both calendars, so in the north too this is Magha 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.

1. 1Eat light the day before, on Dashami.One simple meal is enough. Nothing heavy at night, so your stomach is light on Ekadashi.
2. 2Pick the tulsi leaves for the puja the day before.In many homes tulsi is not plucked on Ekadashi.
3. 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.
4. 4Worship Vishnu or Vitthal.Offer a lamp, incense, sandalwood paste, flowers and tulsi leaves, with fruit or milk as naivedya.
5. 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.
6. 6Spend the day with the name.The Haripath, the Vishnu Sahasranama, bhajans, or the story of that Ekadashi on this page.
7. 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.
8. 8Break the fast after sunrise on Dwadashi.If your panchang gives a parana time, keep to it. Offer naivedya first, then eat.

What you needTick as you go

• An image of Vishnu or Vitthal
• Tulsi leaves (picked the day before)
• Flowers
• Sandalwood paste
• A diya and ghee
• Incense
• Fruit or milk for naivedya
• The Haripath or the Vishnu Sahasranama
• For the fasting meal: sabudana, vari, peanuts, sweet potatoes, potatoes

Frequently asked questions