Jyeshtha Shukla Ekadashi
Nirjala Ekadashi
Also known as Bhima Ekadashi
Nirjala Ekadashi is the most demanding of the year’s twenty-four Ekadashi fasts: kept entirely without water (nirjala). It is said to carry the merit of all the other Ekadashis combined.
2026
Thursday, 25 June 2026
2027
Monday, 14 June 2027
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Significance
When Bhima could not keep the many Ekadashi fasts, the sage Vyasa gave him this single one whose observance equals them all: hence its other name, Bhima Ekadashi. It is a fast for purification and Vishnu’s grace.
How Nirjala Ekadashi is observed
Devotees take neither food nor water from sunrise to the next morning, worship Vishnu, and break the fast with charity: giving water, fans and sweets to the needy in the summer heat.
FAQ
Why is it called Nirjala?
“Nirjala” means without water: the fast is kept with no food and no water at all, the strictest of the Ekadashi vrats.
Why does this one fast equal all the others?
By Vyasa’s boon to Bhima, observing Nirjala Ekadashi is said to grant the merit of all twenty-four annual Ekadashis.
How is the fast broken?
On the next morning (Dwadashi), after Vishnu worship and notably with the gift of water and cooling things to others.
Around the same season
Plan around Nirjala Ekadashi
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