Ekadashi fast
Papmochani Ekadashi 2027: date, parana time and vrat katha
पापमोचनी एकादशी
Papmochani Ekadashi 2027 is on Friday, April 2 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). Break the fast on Saturday, April 3, between 6:49 and 9:22 AM.
Eat between 6:49 and 9:22 AM on Saturday, April 3.
- Fast
Friday, April 2, 2027
Washington DC. Smarta and Vaishnava agree.
- Break the fast
Saturday, April 3, 2027, 6:49–9:22 AM
Smarta rule.
Same date in India (New Delhi).
Vaishnava parana: Sat 3 Apr, 6:49–11:04 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: 6:51 AM
- Rahu Kaal: 11:36 AM to 1:12 PM
- Abhijit muhurat: 12:46 to 1:37 PM. Abhijit and Rahu Kaal overlap from 12:46 PM to 1:12 PM.
- Ekadashi ends: 5:22 PM, then Dwadashi
- Sunset: 7:32 PM
- Pradosh (after sunset): 7:32 to 9:48 PM
- Next sunrise: 6:49 AM +1 day
- Nakshatra: Dhanishta until 5:12 AM, 3 Apr
- Nakshatra: Shatabhisha until 7:03 AM, 4 Apr
Tomorrow, Saturday, April 3: 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 12:46 PM to 1:12 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).
Papmochani Ekadashi is on Friday, April 2, 2027 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). Break the fast on Saturday, April 3, 2027, 6:49 AM – 9:22 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.
Phalguna Krishna in the amanta calendar; Chaitra Krishna in the purnimanta calendar
Papmochani means "she who frees from wrongdoing". It is the Ekadashi of the dark half of Chaitra (Phalguna in the amanta calendar), the last Ekadashi of the lunar year. Its story is about a young sage who lost track of time and spoke a curse in anger.
Written for Pujadeep and checked against the sources listed. See the sources
When it falls
Next for Washington DC: Friday, April 2, 2027. Parana: Saturday, April 3, 2027, 6:49 AM – 9:22 AM. Other cities can differ. Every Ekadashi of 2027 by city.
The story
The sage Lomasha told King Mandhata this story. In spring, in the forest of Chaitraratha, the young sage Medhavi, son of the sage Chyavana, lived a life of strict study and self-control. The apsara Manjughosha came to the forest, sang and danced near his hermitage, and drew him away from his practice. Years passed with her, fifty-seven of them, and to Medhavi they seemed like half a night.
When at last he understood how much time had gone, he was angry with her, and with himself, and he cursed her to become a pishachi, a restless spirit. She begged him to forgive her and to tell her how she could be free. Medhavi told her of the Ekadashi of the dark half of Chaitra, called Papmochani.
Then he went back to his father Chyavana and told him everything. Chyavana told him that he, too, should keep the same fast. Both kept it. Manjughosha was freed from the curse and returned to heaven, and Medhavi regained the strength of his practice. Families tell the story to say that a fall can be put right, and that anger is to be watched as well as desire.
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 48, 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 48, pp. 1349–1351 (leaves n131–n133))
Sources
- Ekadashi name and month: the Pujadeep calendar's table of Ekadashi names.
- Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, Anandashrama edition (Poona, 1894), chapter 48. (pp. 1349–1351 (leaves n131–n133))
Questions families ask
When do I break the Ekadashi fast?
Breaking the fast is called parana. For Papmochani Ekadashi in Washington DC: Saturday, April 3, 2027, 6:49 AM – 9:22 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 14, 2026.
- Updated
- October 15, 2026