Apara Ekadashi
अपरा एकादशी
Wednesday, 13 May 2026
What is Apara Ekadashi?
Grants limitless merit; the story of King Mahidhwaj.
Apara Ekadashi Vrat Katha
Retold by One Mandir · verified 2026-08-06 · 5 sources
Arjuna said, "O Lord! What is the name of Ekadashi which falls on Krishna Paksha of Jyeshtha month? And what is its importance? Which deity is worshiped in it and what is the procedure for observing this fast? Please tell me all this in detail."
Shri Krishna said, "O Arjuna! The name of Ekadashi of Krishna Paksha of Jyeshtha month is Apara, because it gives immense wealth and virtues and destroys all sins. The people who fast on it become famous in the whole world."
By the power of this fast the sins born of murder, of evil spirits and of insulting others are destroyed; and not these only, for the sins of adultery, of false testimony, of reading false Vedas and of composing false scriptures are destroyed as well. Even the terrible sins of misleading people and of cheating them by pretending to be a physician are destroyed by fasting on Apara Ekadashi.
It is held that a Kshatriya who flees the battlefield goes to hell — yet by fasting on Apara Ekadashi even he attains heaven. Disciples who take knowledge from their Guru and then criticise him go to hell; by this fast a place in heaven becomes possible for them too.
The fruit that comes of bathing in the three Pushkars, or of bathing through the month of Kartika, or of offering pinda-daan to the ancestors on the banks of the Ganga, is obtained by fasting on Apara Ekadashi. The fruit that natives of the Leo zodiac obtain by bathing in the river Gomati on a Thursday, by visiting Shri Kedarnath Ji during Kumbha, by dwelling at Badarika Ashrama, and by bathing at Kurukshetra during a solar or lunar eclipse — all of it is attained by fasting on this day. Its fruit is like the giving of elephants, horses and gold at a yajna; the fruit of donating cows and land is equal to it also.
This fast is like an axe for cutting down the trees of sin, and like the Sun for driving out the darkness of sin. Therefore one must observe it, for it is the best among all fasts. On the day of Apara Ekadashi one should worship Lord Shri Vishnu with devotion, and by this one attains Vishnu Loka at the last.
Krishna concluded, "Hey king! I have told this story of Apara Ekadashi for the welfare of all beings. All sins are destroyed by reading and listening to this Katha."
Apara means immense, or beyond measure. Those who keep this fast receive great devotion to Lord Shri Hari Vishnu, and by this beneficial fast devotion and reverence increase continuously in the hearts of the devotees.
This katha has been edited by One Mandir for readability only. The names, numbers, places, sequence of events and the words spoken by the deities and sages are reproduced as they appear in the sources below — nothing has been added, removed or reinterpreted. Compiled from publicly available published sources and cross-verified across at least three of them. Please read the original texts at the links provided.
यह कथा केवल पठनीयता के लिए वन मंदिर द्वारा संपादित की गई है। नाम, संख्याएँ, स्थान, घटनाओं का क्रम तथा देवताओं और ऋषियों के कहे गए वचन नीचे दिए गए स्रोतों के अनुसार ही हैं — कुछ भी जोड़ा, हटाया या बदला नहीं गया है। सार्वजनिक रूप से उपलब्ध प्रकाशित स्रोतों से संकलित तथा कम से कम तीन स्रोतों से सत्यापित। कृपया दिए गए लिंक पर मूल पाठ अवश्य पढ़ें।
Where the sources differ — Presented as a discourse of glories in all sources; no narrative episode. The 'King Mahidhwaj' story this sheet previously summarised appears in no policy-listed source consulted and has been removed rather than retold.
- Drik Panchangdrikpanchang.comtext follows this
- ISKCON Desire Treeiskcondesiretree.comprimary source
- ISKCON Dwarkaiskcondwarka.orgprimary source
- Prokeralaprokerala.comcorroborating
- Rudraksha Ratnarudraksha-ratna.comcorroborating
Puja Vidhi
- 1Dashami (day before): one satvik meal before sunset; no grains from evening.
- 2Ekadashi morning: bathe, then take the sankalp (vow) before Vishnu.
- 3Offer tulsi leaves, fruit, incense, a ghee lamp and yellow flowers.
- 4Chant 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya'; read the Ekadashi katha.
- 5Fast per your capacity — nirjala (waterless), phalahar (fruit), or one satvik meal.
- 6Jagaran — stay awake through the night in bhajan and kirtan.
- 7Dwadashi: break the fast within the parana window, after giving food in charity.
क्या करें · Do's
- सूर्योदय से पूर्व स्नान और संकल्प।
- तुलसी दल अर्पित करें — किंतु एकादशी के दिन तुलसी न तोड़ें (एक दिन पूर्व तोड़ लें)।
- विष्णु सहस्रनाम या 'ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय' का जप।
- एकादशी कथा का सस्वर पाठ।
- अन्न, वस्त्र या दक्षिणा का दान।
- सत्य, संयम और क्षमा का पालन।
क्या न करें · Don'ts
- अन्न वर्जित — विशेषकर चावल का पूर्ण त्याग।
- प्याज, लहसुन और मांसाहार वर्जित।
- मद्य व नशा वर्जित।
- एकादशी के दिन तुलसी पत्र न तोड़ें।
- दिवा-शयन (दिन में सोना) वर्जित।
- क्रोध, कटु वचन, निंदा और कलह से बचें।
- बाल/नाखून न काटें; क्षौर कर्म वर्जित।
- पारण मुहूर्त के बाहर व्रत न खोलें।