Ekadashi fast
Kamada Ekadashi 2027: date, parana time and vrat katha
कामदा एकादशी
Kamada Ekadashi 2027 is on Friday, April 16 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). Break the fast on Saturday, April 17, between 6:29 and 9:08 AM.
Eat between 6:29 and 9:08 AM on Saturday, April 17.
- Fast
Friday, April 16, 2027
Washington DC. Smarta and Vaishnava agree.
- Break the fast
Saturday, April 17, 2027, 6:29–9:08 AM
Smarta rule.
- Fast in India
Saturday, April 17, 2027
New Delhi, same rule.
Vaishnava parana: Sat 17 Apr, 6:29–10:55 AM.
Why this time
Break the fast after sunrise, within pratahkala (the first fifth of the day).
Smarta rule: fast on the day Ekadashi prevails at sunrise (Dashami at sunrise spoils the day).
The fast day
The day in Washington DC
- Sunrise: 6:30 AM
- Rahu Kaal: 11:28 AM to 1:08 PM
- Abhijit muhurat: 12:41 to 1:34 PM. Abhijit and Rahu Kaal overlap from 12:41 PM to 1:08 PM.
- Sunset: 7:46 PM
- Pradosh (after sunset): 7:46 to 9:54 PM
- Ekadashi ends: 11:58 PM, then Dwadashi
- Next sunrise: 6:29 AM +1 day
- Nakshatra: Magha until 9:38 PM
- Nakshatra: Purva Phalguni until 8:36 PM, 17 Apr
Tomorrow, Saturday, April 17: Break the fast
A tithi is a lunar day. It ends when the Moon gains another 12° on the Sun, at the same instant everywhere, so the clock time differs by city.
A tithi is a lunar day. It ends when the Moon gains another 12° on the Sun, at the same instant everywhere, so the clock time differs by city.
The nakshatra is the Moon’s place among the 27 star groups.
The nakshatra is the Moon’s place among the 27 star groups.
One of eight equal parts of the daytime, set by the weekday. Many families avoid starting new work in it. It is a calendar fact, not a prediction.
The eighth of fifteen equal parts of the daytime, around local noon. Abhijit and Rahu Kaal overlap from 12:41 PM to 1:08 PM.
The first part of the night after sunset. Evening pujas such as Lakshmi Puja follow it.
Break the fast after sunrise, within pratahkala (the first fifth of the day).
Kamada Ekadashi is on Friday, April 16, 2027 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). Break the fast on Saturday, April 17, 2027, 6:29 AM – 9:08 AM.
Words on this page
- Paksha: Shukla and Krishna
- Half of a lunar month. In Shukla paksha, the bright half, the Moon grows. In Krishna paksha, the dark half, it wanes.
- Smarta rule and Vaishnava rule
- Two traditions' rules for the day of a festival or a fast. When they give different days, our pages show both and name each rule.
- Parana
- Breaking a fast at the time its rule allows. For Ekadashi: on the next day, after sunrise and Hari Vasara, before Dwadashi ends.
- Hari Vasara
- The first quarter of the Dwadashi tithi. The Ekadashi fast is not broken in it.
- Arunodaya
- The dawn before sunrise. In the Vaishnava Ekadashi rule, the 96 minutes (four ghatikas) before sunrise.
Chaitra Shukla (the same month in the amanta and purnimanta calendars)
Kamada means "she who fulfils wishes". It is the first Ekadashi of the lunar year, in the bright half of Chaitra, soon after Ram Navami. Its story is about a wife who gave the merit of her fast to free her husband from a curse.
Written for Pujadeep and checked against the sources listed. See the sources
When it falls
Next for Washington DC: Friday, April 16, 2027. Parana: Saturday, April 17, 2027, 6:29 AM – 9:08 AM. Other cities can differ. Every Ekadashi of 2027 by city.
The story
The sage Vasishtha told this story to King Dilipa. In Nagapura, a city of golden palaces, the naga king Pundarika held court, and gandharvas and apsaras sang and danced for him. Among them were the gandharva Lalita and the apsara Lalita, husband and wife, who loved each other deeply.
One day Lalita sang at court while his wife was away. His mind was on her, and he lost the words and the beat. The naga Karkotaka noticed and told the king. Pundarika was angry and cursed Lalita to become a rakshasa. At once he took a huge and frightening form, and he wandered in the forest, unhappy.
His wife did not leave him. She followed him through the forest, grieving, until she came to the calm ashram of a sage. She told the sage everything. He told her that the Ekadashi of the bright half of Chaitra, called Kamada, was near, and that she should keep it and give its merit to her husband. She kept the fast, and the next day, before Vasudeva, she gave its merit to Lalita. At once the curse fell away, and he took his own fair form again. The two of them rose to heaven together in a shining chariot.
About this telling
Most tellings today follow the Varaha Purana's version, printed in the Ekadashi Mahatmya: they set the story in the city of Ratnapura and name the sage, Shringi of the Vindhya hills. The Padma Purana's printing retold here says Nagapura and does not name the sage.
Fasting is a choice. Anyone who is pregnant, nursing, diabetic, unwell, elderly or on regular medicine should talk to a doctor before fasting.
Where the story comes from
- Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, chapter 49, in the Anandashrama Sanskrit Series edition (Padmapuranam, part 4, Uttara Khanda, edited by V. N. Mandlik; Poona: Anandashrama Press, 1894; title page, leaf n5). An anonymous Sanskrit text: public domain. Read on the page images and retold in our own words. (chapter 49, pp. 1352–1353 (leaves n134–n135))
Sources
- Ekadashi name and month: the Pujadeep calendar's table of Ekadashi names.
- Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, Anandashrama edition (Poona, 1894), chapter 49. (pp. 1352–1353 (leaves n134–n135))
Questions families ask
When do I break the Ekadashi fast?
Breaking the fast is called parana. For Kamada Ekadashi in Washington DC: Saturday, April 17, 2027, 6:29 AM – 9:08 AM. Break the fast after sunrise, within pratahkala (the first fifth of the day).
Why can the Smarta and Vaishnava dates differ?
Each tradition has its own rule. Smarta rule: fast on the day Ekadashi prevails at sunrise (Dashami at sunrise spoils the day). Vaishnava rule (Gaudiya): Ekadashi prevails from arunodaya (96 minutes before sunrise) through sunrise. How we compute dates
More Ekadashis
Source and licence
- Our explanation
- Written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against them. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the sources listed, October 15, 2026.