Ekadashi fast
Saphala Ekadashi 2027: date, parana time and vrat katha
सफला एकादशी
Saphala Ekadashi 2027 is on Saturday, January 2 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). By the Vaishnava rule it is on Sunday, January 3. Break the fast on Sunday, January 3, between 1:09 and 3:04 PM (Smarta rule).
Eat between 1:09 and 3:04 PM on Sunday, January 3 (Smarta rule).
- Fast
Saturday, January 2, 2027
Washington DC. Smarta rule.
- Break the fast
Sunday, January 3, 2027, 1:09–3:04 PM
Smarta rule.
- Vaishnava rule
Sunday, January 3, 2027
Fast by the Vaishnava rule. Break it Monday 4 January, 7:27 AM – 7:46 AM.
- Fast in India
Sunday, January 3, 2027
New Delhi, same rule.
Vaishnava parana: Mon 4 Jan, 7:27–7:46 AM.
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: 7:26 AM
- Rahu Kaal: 9:49 to 11:00 AM
- Abhijit muhurat: 11:53 AM to 12:31 PM
- Sunset: 4:57 PM
- Pradosh (after sunset): 4:57 to 7:51 PM
- Ekadashi ends: 5:38 AM +1 day, then Dwadashi
- Next sunrise: 7:26 AM +1 day
- Nakshatra: Swati until 8:50 AM
- Nakshatra: Vishakha until 11:07 AM, 3 Jan
Tomorrow, Sunday, January 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.
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).
Saphala Ekadashi is on Saturday, January 2, 2027 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). By the Vaishnava rule it is on Sunday, January 3, 2027. Break the fast on Sunday, January 3, 2027, 1:09 PM – 3:04 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.
Margashirsha Krishna in the amanta calendar; Pausha Krishna in the purnimanta calendar
Saphala means "fruitful". It is the Ekadashi of the dark half of Pausha (Margashirsha in the amanta calendar), in the cold of winter in North India. Its story is about a prince who kept the fast without meaning to, and fruit is the offering of the day.
Written for Pujadeep and checked against the sources listed. See the sources
When it falls
Next for Washington DC: Saturday, January 2, 2027 (Vaishnava: Sunday, January 3, 2027). Parana: Sunday, January 3, 2027, 1:09 PM – 3:04 PM. Other cities can differ. Every Ekadashi of 2027 by city.
The story
King Mahishmata of Champavati had five sons. The eldest, Lumbhaka, wasted his father's wealth, lived badly and mocked holy people. In the end the king sent him out of the kingdom. Lumbhaka lived in the forest and stole from the city, and once he was caught; he was let go only because he was the king's son.
He made his home under an old pipal (ashvattha) tree, which people held sacred. On the night before the Ekadashi of the dark half of Pausha it was bitterly cold, and Lumbhaka had no clothes to keep him warm. He could not sleep, and by morning he lay still and senseless. He came to himself only at midday, too weak to hunt. He gathered some fallen fruit, and by the time he came back the sun was setting.
He did not eat. He placed the fruit at the root of the tree and said, "May Hari be pleased with this." That night, too, he could not sleep. Without knowing it, he had fasted, offered fruit and kept the night's vigil on Saphala Ekadashi. In the morning a voice from the sky told him that his kingdom would be his again. The kingdom came to him, and he ruled well and with devotion.
About this telling
Other printings, and most tellings today, call the prince Lumpaka, "the plunderer". The Padma Purana's printing retold here reads Lumbhaka.
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 42, 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 42, pp. 1336–1338 (leaves n118–n120))
Sources
- Ekadashi name and month: the Pujadeep calendar's table of Ekadashi names.
- Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, Anandashrama edition (Poona, 1894), chapter 42. (pp. 1336–1338 (leaves n118–n120))
Questions families ask
When do I break the Ekadashi fast?
Breaking the fast is called parana. For Saphala Ekadashi in Washington DC: Sunday, January 3, 2027, 1:09 PM – 3:04 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): Vyanjuli Mahadvadashi; the fast is kept on Dwadashi. 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.