Ekadashi fast
Papankusha Ekadashi 2027: date, parana time and vrat katha
पापांकुशा एकादशी
Papankusha Ekadashi 2027 is on Sunday, October 10 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). Break the fast on Monday, October 11, between 2:02 and 4:19 PM.
Eat between 2:02 and 4:19 PM on Monday, October 11.
- Fast
Sunday, October 10, 2027
Washington DC. Smarta and Vaishnava agree.
- Break the fast
Monday, October 11, 2027, 2:02–4:19 PM
Smarta rule.
- Fast in India
Monday, October 11, 2027
New Delhi, same rule.
Vaishnava parana: Mon 11 Oct, after 11:10 AM. The rule gives no end time.
Why this time
Hari Vasara ends after pratahkala; parana is avoided in madhyahna, so break the fast after madhyahna, within aparahna (the fourth fifth of the day, which ends the window).
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: 7:12 AM
- Abhijit muhurat: 12:32 to 1:17 PM
- Rahu Kaal: 5:11 to 6:37 PM
- Sunset: 6:37 PM
- Pradosh (after sunset): 6:37 to 9:08 PM
- Ekadashi ends: 4:39 AM +1 day, then Dwadashi
- Next sunrise: 7:13 AM +1 day
- Nakshatra: Dhanishta until 6:52 AM, 11 Oct
- Nakshatra: Shatabhisha until 9:26 AM, 12 Oct
Tomorrow, Monday, October 11: 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.
The first part of the night after sunset. Evening pujas such as Lakshmi Puja follow it.
Hari Vasara ends after pratahkala; parana is avoided in madhyahna, so break the fast after madhyahna, within aparahna (the fourth fifth of the day, which ends the window).
Papankusha Ekadashi is on Sunday, October 10, 2027 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). Break the fast on Monday, October 11, 2027, 2:02 PM – 4:19 PM.
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.
Ashvina Shukla (the same month in the amanta and purnimanta calendars)
Papankusha means "the goad that holds back wrongdoing", like the hook that guides an elephant. It is the Ekadashi of the bright half of Ashvina, just after Dussehra, and Vishnu is worshipped as Padmanabha.
Written for Pujadeep and checked against the sources listed. See the sources
When it falls
Next for Washington DC: Sunday, October 10, 2027. Parana: Monday, October 11, 2027, 2:02 PM – 4:19 PM. Other cities can differ. Every Ekadashi of 2027 by city.
The story
Families today tell this tale with Papankusha. A hunter named Krodhana lived in the Vindhya hills. All his life he hurt living things and did many wrong deeds. When he was old, he learned that his life would end the next day; in most tellings the messengers of Yama, who judges the dead, tell him. Troubled, he went to the ashram of the sage Angiras and asked for help. The sage felt pity for him. He told Krodhana to keep the Ekadashi of the bright half of Ashvina, called Papankusha: to fast, to worship Vishnu, and to stay awake in prayer through the night. Krodhana did as the sage said. The tale says that his wrongs were washed away and that, at the end of his life, he went to Vishnu's world.
In the Padma Purana, Krishna tells Yudhishthira about this Ekadashi, and three of his teachings stand out. First, respect for Shiva and Vishnu alike: devotion to one form never gives leave to scorn another. Second, a gift to the family line: the text says that whoever keeps this Ekadashi helps ten generations on the mother's side, ten on the father's side and ten on the wife's side. This is the text's claim, not a promise. It names gifts for the day: gold, sesame, land, a cow, food, water, sandals and an umbrella. Third, a day not wasted: the text says that a person who lets the days go by with no good deed is like a blacksmith's bellows, breathing but not really alive. Even a poor person can do something each day, by bathing, giving a little, praying, or helping someone.
About this telling
The tale of Krodhana is told in present-day vrat-katha books and on many websites. Most name no Purana for it; some credit it to the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, and one to the Padma Purana. No printed Sanskrit text of it was found in the printings read for this page (printed 1930 or earlier), and the Padma Purana's chapter on this day has only Krishna's teachings. The retelling is ours, from the facts those versions agree on. Most name the sage Angiras; one names the sage Chyavana.
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
- The tale of Krodhana: present-day vrat-katha tellings on the web, read 22 Oct 2026 for the facts they agree on (Bhakti Bharat, "Papankusha Ekadashi Vrat Katha"). Not copied; retold in our own words.
- The tale of Krodhana: Navbharat Live, the Papankusha Ekadashi fast and its katha, read 22 Oct 2026 for the facts. Not copied.
- The tale of Krodhana: SmartPuja, Papankusha Ekadashi vrat katha, read 22 Oct 2026 for the facts. Not copied.
- Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, chapter 61, 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 61, pp. 1370–1371 (leaves n152–n153))
Sources
- Ekadashi name and month: the Pujadeep calendar's table of Ekadashi names.
- Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, Anandashrama edition (Poona, 1894), chapter 61. (pp. 1370–1371 (leaves n152–n153))
- The tale of Krodhana, as told today (web pages read 22 Oct 2026): Bhakti Bharat, Navbharat Live, SmartPuja and AstroVed agree on the plot; Haindavam names the sage Chyavana.
Questions families ask
When do I break the Ekadashi fast?
Breaking the fast is called parana. For Papankusha Ekadashi in Washington DC: Monday, October 11, 2027, 2:02 PM – 4:19 PM. Hari Vasara ends after pratahkala; parana is avoided in madhyahna, so break the fast after madhyahna, within aparahna (the fourth fifth of the day, which ends the window).
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 22, 2026.