Ekadashi fast
Shattila Ekadashi 2027: date, parana time and vrat katha
षट्तिला एकादशी
Shattila Ekadashi 2027 is on Monday, February 1 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). Break the fast on Tuesday, February 2, between 7:20 and 9:16 AM.
Eat between 7:20 and 9:16 AM on Tuesday, February 2.
- Fast
Monday, February 1, 2027
Washington DC. Smarta and Vaishnava agree.
- Break the fast
Tuesday, February 2, 2027, 7:20–9:16 AM
Smarta rule.
- Fast in India
Tuesday, February 2, 2027
New Delhi, same rule.
Vaishnava parana: Tue 2 Feb, 7:20–10:39 AM.
Why this time
Break the fast after Hari Vasara (the first quarter of Dwadashi), 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: 7:14 AM
- Rahu Kaal: 8:31 to 9:48 AM
- Abhijit muhurat: 12:01 to 12:42 PM
- Sunset: 5:29 PM
- Pradosh (after sunset): 5:29 to 8:14 PM
- Ekadashi ends: 12:40 AM +1 day, then Dwadashi
- Next sunrise: 7:13 AM +1 day
- Nakshatra: Jyeshtha until 10:52 PM
- Nakshatra: Mula until 1:56 AM, 3 Feb
Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 2: 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.
Break the fast after Hari Vasara (the first quarter of Dwadashi), within pratahkala (the first fifth of the day).
Shattila Ekadashi is on Monday, February 1, 2027 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). Break the fast on Tuesday, February 2, 2027, 7:20 AM – 9:16 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.
Pausha Krishna in the amanta calendar; Magha Krishna in the purnimanta calendar
Shattila means "six ways with sesame". It is the Ekadashi of the dark half of Magha (Pausha in the amanta calendar), in the cold season, and sesame is used six ways: in the bath, rubbed on the body, in the fire offering, in drinking water, as a gift, and in food.
Written for Pujadeep and checked against the sources listed. See the sources
When it falls
Next for Washington DC: Monday, February 1, 2027. Parana: Tuesday, February 2, 2027, 7:20 AM – 9:16 AM. Other cities can differ. Every Ekadashi of 2027 by city.
The story
The sage Pulastya told the sage Dalbhya about the six uses of sesame, and Krishna told this story to show why giving matters.
There was once a brahmin woman who was very devout. She fasted and worshipped Vishnu with great care, month after month, and her body grew thin with her vows. But she never gave food to anyone. To teach her, Vishnu came to her door in the form of a beggar and held out his bowl. Instead of food, she put a lump of clay into it.
In time she reached heaven because of her fasts, and there she was given a fine house. But the house was empty: no grain, nothing to eat. She went to Vishnu and asked why. He told her that she had never given food, and that is why her house in heaven was bare. Then he told her what to do. The wives of the gods would come to see her, and she should open her door only if one of them gave her the merit of Shattila Ekadashi. She did so. At first none of them would give it. In the end the door was opened, and by the power of Shattila Ekadashi her house was filled with grain, cloth, silver and gold.
The lesson families draw is simple: fasting and worship are good, and sharing food with others belongs with them.
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 44, 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 44, pp. 1340–1342 (leaves n122–n124))
Sources
- Ekadashi name and month: the Pujadeep calendar's table of Ekadashi names.
- Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, Anandashrama edition (Poona, 1894), chapter 44. (pp. 1340–1342 (leaves n122–n124))
Questions families ask
When do I break the Ekadashi fast?
Breaking the fast is called parana. For Shattila Ekadashi in Washington DC: Tuesday, February 2, 2027, 7:20 AM – 9:16 AM. Break the fast after Hari Vasara (the first quarter of Dwadashi), 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