Ekadashi fast
Vijaya Ekadashi 2027: date, parana time and vrat katha
विजया एकादशी
Vijaya Ekadashi 2027 is on Wednesday, March 3 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). Break the fast on Thursday, March 4, between 6:36 and 8:53 AM.
Eat between 6:36 and 8:53 AM on Thursday, March 4.
- Fast
Wednesday, March 3, 2027
Washington DC. Smarta and Vaishnava agree.
- Break the fast
Thursday, March 4, 2027, 6:36–8:53 AM
Smarta rule.
Same date in India (New Delhi).
Vaishnava parana: Thu 4 Mar, 6:36–10:25 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: 6:37 AM
- Abhijit muhurat: 11:57 AM to 12:43 PM. Many panchangs do not use Abhijit on Wednesdays. Abhijit and Rahu Kaal overlap from 12:20 PM to 12:43 PM.
- Rahu Kaal: 12:20 to 1:45 PM
- Sunset: 6:02 PM
- Pradosh (after sunset): 6:02 to 8:33 PM
- Ekadashi ends: 8:54 PM, then Dwadashi
- Next sunrise: 6:36 AM +1 day
- Nakshatra: Purva Ashadha until 12:05 PM
- Nakshatra: Uttara Ashadha until 3:06 PM, 4 Mar
Tomorrow, Thursday, March 4: 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. Many panchangs do not use Abhijit on Wednesdays. Abhijit and Rahu Kaal overlap from 12:20 PM to 12:43 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).
Vijaya Ekadashi is on Wednesday, March 3, 2027 in Washington DC (Smarta rule). Break the fast on Thursday, March 4, 2027, 6:36 AM – 8:53 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.
Magha Krishna in the amanta calendar; Phalguna Krishna in the purnimanta calendar
Vijaya also means "victory". It is the Ekadashi of the dark half of Phalguna (Magha in the amanta calendar). Its story is about Rama, who kept this fast on the shore of the ocean before he crossed to Lanka.
Written for Pujadeep and checked against the sources listed. See the sources
When it falls
Next for Washington DC: Wednesday, March 3, 2027. Parana: Thursday, March 4, 2027, 6:36 AM – 8:53 AM. Other cities can differ. Every Ekadashi of 2027 by city.
The story
Brahma told this story to Narada. When Rama reached the shore of the ocean with his army, he could see no way across the deep water, and he asked Lakshmana what to do. Lakshmana told him of the sage Bakadalbhya, whose ashram stood half a yojana away. Rama went to the sage, bowed, and asked his advice.
The sage told him to keep the Ekadashi of the dark half of Phalguna, called Vijaya, and explained how. On the day before, set up a pot of gold, silver, copper or clay, filled with water and crowned with leaves, and place an image of Narayana on it. On the Ekadashi, worship the pot with flowers, incense and lamps, keep the fast, and stay awake through the night in front of the pot. At sunrise on the next day, take the pot to a river or lake, worship it again, and give it to a learned brahmin.
Rama kept the fast with his companions just as the sage had taught. Then he crossed the ocean, won the war in Lanka and brought Sita home. The text says that this fast gives victory; that is the text's own claim, told here as its claim.
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 46, 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 46, pp. 1345–1346 (leaves n127–n128))
Sources
- Ekadashi name and month: the Pujadeep calendar's table of Ekadashi names.
- Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, Anandashrama edition (Poona, 1894), chapter 46. (pp. 1345–1346 (leaves n127–n128))
Questions families ask
When do I break the Ekadashi fast?
Breaking the fast is called parana. For Vijaya Ekadashi in Washington DC: Thursday, March 4, 2027, 6:36 AM – 8:53 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