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Nirjala Ekadashi 2026

The waterless fast — hardest and most meritorious of the 24 Ekadashis.

Nirjala Ekadashi 2025Nirjala Ekadashi 2027
Nirjala Ekadashi 2026 date
Thursday, 25 June 2026
Tithi: Jyeshtha Shukla Ekadashi
Tithi window: 06:15 PM, Wednesday, 24 June 2026 → 08:12 PM, Thursday, 25 June 2026
See the full panchang for Thursday, 25 June 2026

Today's Panchang

Kashi reference · computed live
Tithi
Saptami
till 20:47
Nakshatra
Ashwini
till 21:21
Yoga
Shula
Karana
Vishti
Sunrise
05:26
Sunset
18:41
Moon sign
Aries
Sun sign
Cancer

Muhurat & timings

Kashi/IST · astronomically computed
  • Sankalp (sunrise)05:09
  • Sunset18:51
  • Fasting window (tithi)2026-06-24 · 18:15 → 20:12
  • Parana (tithi ends)20:12

The significance of Nirjala Ekadashi

Nirjala Ekadashi, on the Shukla Ekadashi of Jyeshtha, is the strictest and most rewarded of the year's twenty-four Ekadashis. Nirjala means 'without water' — the fast is kept from sunrise on Ekadashi to sunrise on Dwadashi with no food and, uniquely, no water at all, in the hottest, driest stretch of the year.

It is also called Bhimseni or Bhima Ekadashi, for the story that Bhima, who could not go without food, was told he might keep this one fast alone and receive the merit of all twenty-four. So the day carries a kind of mercy inside its severity: one hard day standing in for a year of discipline.

That it falls in Jyeshtha, when water is most precious, is the whole point. To give up water when the body wants it most is the offering — and the giving of water, pots and shade to others is the day's defining charity.

Nirjala Ekadashi puja vidhi

  1. 1Bathe at dawn on Ekadashi and take the sankalpa of the nirjala fast before the deity.
  2. 2Worship Vishnu — as Narayana or Krishna — with tulsi leaves, yellow flowers, sandal and a ghee lamp.
  3. 3Spend the day in Vishnu's name: the Vishnu Sahasranama, bhajan, or reading the Ekadashi katha.
  4. 4Keep a jagran or an evening of kirtan; the night before Dwadashi is traditionally spent in remembrance.
  5. 5At dawn on Dwadashi, bathe, worship again, and give dana — above all water and a filled pot to a brahmin or the needy.
  6. 6Break the fast within the Dwadashi parana window with water and satvik food.

Mantra

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

Salutations to Bhagavan Vasudeva (Vishnu), the indweller of all.

Vrat rules

  • No food and no water from sunrise on Ekadashi until sunrise the next day; this is the defining rule.
  • Grains, beans and rice are avoided entirely, as on every Ekadashi.
  • The fast is broken (parana) the next morning in the Dwadashi window, after bathing and giving dana.
  • The old, ill and pregnant may keep a lighter phalahar fast; the nirjala form is a vow, not an obligation.
  • Giving water, earthen pots, hand-fans, umbrellas and sherbet in charity is held to be especially meritorious.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Keeping the strict waterless form when unwell, pregnant or elderly — a phalahar fast is expressly allowed instead.
  • Delaying the parana past the Dwadashi window; the fast should be broken within the prescribed time.
  • Forgetting the water-daan — giving water, pots, fans and cooling foods in the June heat is the day's defining charity.
  • Treating it as any other Ekadashi; this one, kept waterless, is held to carry the merit of all twenty-four.

The vrat katha of Nirjala Ekadashi

Of the five Pandavas, Bhima alone could not keep the Ekadashi fasts. Twice a month he would try, and twice a month his hunger — the fire of Vrikodara, the wolf-bellied — would defeat him. Ashamed that his brothers and Draupadi kept every Ekadashi while he could keep none, he went to the sage Vyasa.

Vyasa told him there was one fast he could keep in place of all the rest: the Shukla Ekadashi of Jyeshtha, held entirely without water. If Bhima kept this single day with full rigour, he would earn the fruit of all twenty-four Ekadashis of the year. Bhima kept it, fainted at its end, and was revived — and the day has carried his name, Bhimseni Ekadashi, ever since, as proof that one wholehearted day can stand for a year.

Nirjala Ekadashi timeline

  1. Sunrise on Ekadashi

    After a bath, the sankalpa of the nirjala fast is taken before Vishnu — no food and no water until the next sunrise.

  2. Through the day

    The day is spent in Vishnu's name — the Vishnu Sahasranama, bhajan and the giving of water, pots, fans and sherbet in charity.

  3. Night — jagran

    A vigil of kirtan and japa is kept through the night before Dwadashi.

  4. Dwadashi parana

    At dawn, after a bath and dana — above all a filled water-pot — the fast is broken with water and satvik food.

Famous places & temples

Mathura & Vrindavan

The Braj temples keep the day with water-daan booths (pyaus), fans and sherbet given freely to pilgrims in the summer heat.

Vishnu & Krishna temples

Wherever Vishnu is worshipped, the strictest Ekadashi of the year draws large fasting congregations and jagran.

Riverside tirthas

A holy dip at a Ganga or Yamuna ghat at dawn, followed by dana, is part of the day for many.

ISKCON temples worldwide

Bhimseni Ekadashi is observed globally with kirtan, a waterless or phalahar fast and charity.

Interesting facts

  • ◆Kept entirely without water, it is the strictest Ekadashi of the year and is said to give the merit of all twenty-four.
  • ◆It is called Bhimseni or Bhima Ekadashi after Bhima, who could keep only this one fast in place of them all.
  • ◆It falls in Jyeshtha, the hottest, driest month — which is exactly why giving up water is the offering.
  • ◆Giving water and a filled pot in charity on this day is held to be among the most meritorious of daans.

Common questions

Why is Nirjala Ekadashi kept without water?

It falls in Jyeshtha, the hottest month, and giving up water when the body most needs it is the offering. Keeping this one waterless fast is said to give the merit of all twenty-four Ekadashis of the year.

Why is it called Bhima Ekadashi?

Because the sage Vyasa told Bhima, who could not fast on every Ekadashi, that he could keep this single day in place of them all — so it also carries his name, Bhimseni or Bhima Ekadashi.

When is the fast broken?

At dawn the next day, within the Dwadashi parana window, after a bath and dana. The parana should not be delayed past the window; the exact time depends on the tithi's end.

Festival days follow the classical attribution rules — udaya (sunrise), pradosha (evening), nishita (midnight), madhyahna or aparahna vyapini as each festival prescribes — computed for Kashi/Varanasi (IST). Regional observance can differ by a day in some years.

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