Nirjala Ekadashi 2027

About Nirjala Ekadashi

Nirjala Ekadashi is the eleventh day of the bright half of Jyeshtha, and in 2027 it falls on Monday, 14 June 2027. Devotees of Vishnu keep it without food and without a drop of water, from sunrise until after sunrise the next day. It is also called Bhimseni or Pandava Ekadashi, and tradition holds that this one fast earns the merit of all the Ekadashis in the year.

Nirjala means without water. Most Ekadashi fasts allow fruit, milk or water. This one allows none of them, which is why panchangs call it the hardest of the 24 Ekadashis in a year. Drik Panchang notes that the only water permitted is the few drops sipped for achamana, the ritual purification before puja. Anything more breaks the vow.

It falls in Jyeshtha, usually late May or June, when much of north India is in the worst of its summer heat. That timing shapes almost everything about the day: the fast itself, the charity people give, and the way a thoughtful person wishes someone who is keeping it.

The Bhima story

As tradition tells it, Bhima, the second of the Pandava brothers, could not manage the twice-monthly Ekadashi fasts. He had a famously large appetite. Worried that he was failing Vishnu, he asked the sage Vyasa what to do. Vyasa told him to keep just one fast a year, on Jyeshtha Shukla Ekadashi, with no food and no water at all. Doing so, he said, would give Bhima the merit of every Ekadashi in the year.

Wikipedia attributes this version to the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, and Drik Panchang cites the Mahabharata tradition. Either way, it explains the names Bhimseni Ekadashi, Bhim Ekadashi and Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi. It also explains the day's appeal: people who cannot keep every Ekadashi often keep this one.

How the date is set

The fast is kept on the day when Ekadashi tithi is running at sunrise. Because a tithi does not line up with the solar day, it can begin the previous evening or end in the small hours. When Ekadashi touches two sunrises, panchangs sometimes list a second day, and some Vaishnava calendars, including ISKCON's, can keep the fast a day later than the household calendar. Wish people on the day their own family follows.

Years with an extra lunar month move the date. 2026 had an Adhik Jyeshtha, so Nirjala Ekadashi fell on 25 June rather than in early June. In most years it comes a day after Ganga Dussehra, and the two sometimes share a date. In 2026 they were a month apart, because Drik Panchang and the Haridwar bathers kept Ganga Dussehra in the extra month while the Ekadashi fast stayed in the regular one.

How the fast is kept

1. Dashami, the day before
   One simple meal without rice, eaten before sunset

   Keeps the body light for the fast ahead

2. Ekadashi, from sunrise
   No food, no water

   Only drops for achamana are allowed

3. Ekadashi, morning
   Vishnu puja

   The image or a Shaligram is bathed in panchamrit, then offered tulsi, flowers, a lamp and a hand fan

4. Ekadashi, night
   Jagran

   Many stay awake singing bhajans or chanting Vishnu's names

5. Dwadashi, next morning
   Bath, charity, then parana

   The fast is broken within Dwadashi, after Hari Vasara ends

Parana is the meal that ends the fast. Drik Panchang says it must fall within Dwadashi tithi, but not in Hari Vasara, the first quarter of Dwadashi. Early morning is preferred and midday is avoided. The exact window changes every year and with the city, so check a local panchang the evening before.

Some people keep the strict version from sunrise to sunrise. Others fast from sunrise to sunset. In Jammu, Daily Excelsior reports, it is women above all who keep the fast, and, true to the Bhima story, some people keep only this Ekadashi in the year.

Giving water to others

Because the faster goes without water, the day's charity is water. The older custom is to give a water-filled pot, a kalash or matka, on Dwadashi before eating, along with clothes, grain, an umbrella, a hand fan or a little gold according to one's means. Wikipedia lists the same items as the gifts prescribed for the day.

In towns the custom has moved to the street. Families, temple committees and traders set up stalls, called chabeel or pyau, and hand out chilled sharbat, water and prasad to anyone passing. Daily Excelsior has reported these stalls in every market of Jammu and in towns from Kathua and Samba to Katra and Reasi. People who are not fasting often take part this way, pouring sharbat for strangers in the heat.

What to write

The person you are writing to is doing something hard, on purpose, for their faith. A good message notices that without making a fuss. Name Vishnu or Hari if you share the faith. If you don't, a simple line wishing them strength and a good fast is respectful. For parents and grandparents, it is fine to add a word about resting and breaking the fast on time.

The next Ekadashi with a similar pull is Devshayani Ekadashi in Ashadha, when Vishnu is believed to lie down for four months and Chaturmas begins.

How to wish someone on Nirjala Ekadashi

A Nirjala Ekadashi wish is quiet and devotional. The person you are writing to may have had no water since dawn in the hottest weeks of the year, so wish them strength, a calm mind and an easy parana the next morning. Never joke about food or drink, and don't send pictures of meals. Mentioning Vishnu, the Bhima story or the custom of giving water to others fits the day well. For elders who are fasting, add a gentle line about their health.

Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.

Language tip: English, Hindi.

Good to know: A hard waterless fast in peak summer. Wish strength and an easy parana; never tease about food or water, and don't push people who are unwell to fast.

When is Nirjala Ekadashi in each year?

Nirjala Ekadashi is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 11 days earlier than in 2026.

Frequently asked questions