Varuthini Ekadashi
वरूथिनी एकादशी
Monday, 13 April 2026
What is Varuthini Ekadashi?
Grants protection and fortune; glories and fast-rules, citing King Mandhata and Dhundhumar.
Varuthini Ekadashi Vrat Katha
Retold by One Mandir · verified 2026-08-06 · 5 sources
Arjuna said, "O Lord! What is the name of Ekadashi of Krishna Paksha of Vaishakh month, what are its rituals and what results are obtained from it, please tell in detail."
Shri Krishna said, "O Arjuna! The name of Ekadashi of Krishna Paksha of Vaishakh month is Varuthini Ekadashi. It is the one that bestows good fortune. By fasting on it, all the sins of the living being are destroyed. If a virtuous unhappy woman observes this fast, she gets good fortune."
King Mandhata attained heaven by the influence of Varuthini Ekadashi, and Dhundhumar and others likewise went to heaven. The fruit of fasting on this day equals ten thousand years of penance, and the merit that comes of donating gold at Kurukshetra during a solar eclipse is the same merit that comes of keeping this fast. By observing it, beings find happiness in this world and attain heaven at the last.
Krishna set out the order of giving as the scriptures state it: the donation of an elephant is better than the donation of a horse, the donation of land better than the donation of an elephant, and better than these is the donation of sesame seeds; the donation of gold is better than sesame, and the donation of food better than gold. There is no charity in the world greater than the giving of food, for by it ancestors, gods and human beings are all satisfied. Kanyadana is held equal to the giving of food.
Fasting on Varuthini Ekadashi yields the fruit of these greatest of gifts, of annadana and of kanyadana alike. Those who out of greed take a daughter's wealth, or out of laziness and torpor consume it, suffer in hell until the dissolution, or are born as a cat in the next life. Even Chitragupta cannot record the virtues of those who perform their daughters' kanyadana with love and with yajna — and the same virtue comes to one who keeps this fast.
From the day of Dashami, the observer must give up eating in bronze utensils, non-vegetarian food, masur lentils, chickpea, kodo millet, herbs, honey, another person's food, and a second meal on Ekadashi. The one who fasts should remain wholly celibate. One should not sleep at night, but pass the time in contemplation of the scriptures and in bhajan and kirtan. One should not criticise others, nor keep the company of lowly sinners; anger and lying are forbidden; oil and grains are not to be eaten during the fast.
Those who observe this fast by the rules attain heaven; therefore one should fear wrongdoing. By reading its greatness one earns the merit of donating a thousand cows, and its benefit is greater than a dip in the Ganga.
The essence of the katha is that patience is the foundation of good fortune. Restraint in every form increases a person's happiness; where there is no self-control, all the penance, sacrifice, devotion and worship a person performs is rendered useless.
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 — Drik Panchang presents Varuthini as glories plus the rules of the fast, citing King Mandhata and Dhundhumar as having attained heaven through it, but without a full narrative episode. The widely repeated 'King Mandhata loses his arm to a bear' episode is not in the Tier A text and is not carried here.
- Drik Panchangdrikpanchang.comtext follows this
- ISKCON Desire Treeiskcondesiretree.comprimary source
- ISKCON Dwarkaiskcondwarka.orgprimary source
- MyPanditmypandit.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।