Prabodhini Ekadashi 2026: Smarta fast Friday, Vaishnava fast Saturday

Dev Uthani Ekadashi, also called Prabodhini Ekadashi, falls on Friday, 20 November 2026 for households that follow the Smarta calendar, and on Saturday, 21 November 2026 for many Vaishnava followers, according to published panchang calculations. The Ekadashi tithi, the eleventh lunar day of the bright half of Kartik, begins on the morning of 20 November, at about 7.15 am, and ends at about 6.31 am on 21 November, by these calculations. The fast is broken (parana) on the afternoon of 21 November for Smarta observers, roughly between 1.11 pm and 3.18 pm, and on the morning of Sunday, 22 November for Vaishnava observers, roughly between 6.49 am and 8.56 am. Exact timings vary by city.

Ekadashi dates often split into two, and Dev Uthani Ekadashi this year shows why. The difference does not come from a disagreement about the Moon. It comes from two rules for deciding which calendar day "owns" a tithi that does not line up with the solar day.

Smarta practice ties the fast to the tithi in relation to sunrise. This year the Ekadashi tithi begins at about 7.15 am on 20 November and ends at about 6.31 am on 21 November, a span shorter than a full day, and Smarta calendars assign the fast to 20 November.

The Vaishnava rule reads the tithi at arunodaya, the period about 96 minutes before sunrise, instead of at sunrise itself. Applying that test, Vaishnava calendars place the fast a day later, on 21 November, with parana the next morning.

This is a good example of how India's traditional calendar works: a lunar day can begin and end at any hour, while daily life runs from sunrise to sunrise. Different traditions developed precise rules, based on astronomical timing, to settle which day to observe. The rules are matters of tradition and practice; the astronomy behind them, the changing angle between the Sun and Moon that defines each tithi, can be calculated precisely.

Dev Uthani Ekadashi is also closely linked to Tulsi Vivah, the ceremonial marriage of the tulsi plant, which follows it.

Peepals calculation: From about 7.15 am on 20 November to about 6.31 am on 21 November, the Ekadashi tithi lasts roughly 23 hours and 16 minutes, about 44 minutes short of a full 24-hour day. Because the tithi does not cover a full sunrise-to-sunrise day, the rule a tradition uses decides which date it falls on. Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: Families will choose 20 or 21 November for the fast depending on their tradition, and temples may observe different days.

Long-term: Clear explanations of calendar rules help families understand why festival dates sometimes differ between neighbours, communities and published calendars.

Who is affected: Hindu households that keep Ekadashi fasts, temples and priests, and families planning Tulsi Vivah.

What to watch next: The parana windows on 21 November (Smarta) and 22 November (Vaishnava).

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