{"id":179,"date":"2026-10-31T13:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T08:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/?p=179"},"modified":"2026-11-02T16:43:39","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T11:13:39","slug":"rama-ekadashi-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/rama-ekadashi-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Rama Ekadashi 2026: Date, Parana Time in 30 Cities, Vrat Katha and Puja Vidhi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rama Ekadashi 2026 falls on <strong>Thursday, 5 November<\/strong>. Ekadashi tithi begins at 11:03 AM on 4 November and ends at 10:36 AM on 5 November, so the 5th is the day with Ekadashi at sunrise and the day of the fast. The fast is broken (parana) on Friday 6 November, the morning of Dhanteras: in New Delhi the preferred window is <strong>6:36 AM to 8:48 AM<\/strong>, and it must be done before Dwadashi ends at 10:31 AM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rama Ekadashi is the last Ekadashi before Diwali and is named after Rama, a name of Goddess Lakshmi. Below are the parana times for 30 cities, the reason a few calendars show 4 November, the fasting rules, the vrat katha and a simple puja vidhi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#at-a-glance\">Rama Ekadashi 2026 at a glance<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#4-or-5-november\">Is Rama Ekadashi on 4 or 5 November?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#parana-time-by-city\">Parana time in 30 cities<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#fasting-rules\">Fasting rules: what to eat and avoid<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#puja-vidhi\">Rama Ekadashi puja vidhi<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#vrat-katha\">Rama Ekadashi vrat katha<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"at-a-glance\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rama Ekadashi 2026 at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Detail<\/th><th>Rama Ekadashi 2026 (New Delhi)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Fasting day<\/td><td>Thursday, 5 November 2026<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ekadashi tithi<\/td><td>11:03 AM on 4 November to 10:36 AM on 5 November<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Hari Vasara ends<\/td><td>4:34 PM on 5 November<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Parana day<\/td><td>Friday, 6 November (Dhanteras)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Preferred parana<\/td><td>6:36 AM to 8:48 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Dwadashi ends<\/td><td>10:31 AM on 6 November<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Lunar month<\/td><td>Kartik Krishna Ekadashi (Ashwin Krishna in the amanta calendar)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Moon&#8217;s nakshatra at sunrise<\/td><td>Uttara Phalguni<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Same evening<\/td><td>Govatsa Dwadashi (Vasu Baras)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"4-or-5-november\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is Rama Ekadashi 2026 on 4 or 5 November?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For India it is 5 November. The rule is simple: an Ekadashi fast is kept on the day when Ekadashi tithi is present at sunrise. On 4 November the tithi starts at 11:03 AM, hours after sunrise, so the 4th still belongs to Dashami. On 5 November the tithi is running at sunrise and lasts until 10:36 AM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vaishnava traditions add a stricter test: Ekadashi must not be touched by Dashami even at Arunodaya, the 96 minutes before sunrise. On 5 November Arunodaya in Delhi starts around 4:59 AM, long after Dashami ended, so ISKCON and other Vaishnava calendars also fast on 5 November. Smarta and Vaishnava households in India observe the same day this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calendars made for the UK, Europe and North America show 4 November. In London the tithi begins at 5:33 AM GMT on the 4th, before sunrise, and ends before sunrise on the 5th; in New York it begins just after midnight on the 4th. If you have family abroad, they will fast a day before you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"parana-time-by-city\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rama Ekadashi 2026 parana time in 30 cities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parana is done after sunrise on Dwadashi, once Hari Vasara (the first quarter of Dwadashi) is over. In 2026 Hari Vasara ends on the afternoon of 5 November, so on the 6th you can break the fast from sunrise. Most panchangs prefer the first fifth of the day, called pratahkal, and ask you to avoid madhyahna (midday). ISKCON calendars allow parana until one third of the day has passed. In every case the fast must be broken before Dwadashi ends at 10:31 AM, because a parana after Dwadashi is considered incomplete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>City<\/th><th>Preferred parana (pratahkal)<\/th><th>ISKCON parana window<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Delhi<\/td><td><strong>6:36 AM to 8:48 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:36 AM to 10:15 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Noida<\/td><td><strong>6:36 AM to 8:47 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:36 AM to 10:14 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Gurugram<\/td><td><strong>6:37 AM to 8:48 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:37 AM to 10:16 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Chandigarh<\/td><td><strong>6:41 AM to 8:51 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:41 AM to 10:18 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Amritsar<\/td><td><strong>6:50 AM to 9:00 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:50 AM to 10:26 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ludhiana<\/td><td><strong>6:45 AM to 8:55 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:45 AM to 10:22 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Jammu<\/td><td><strong>6:52 AM to 9:01 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:52 AM to 10:27 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Dehradun<\/td><td><strong>6:36 AM to 8:46 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:36 AM to 10:13 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Jaipur<\/td><td><strong>6:40 AM to 8:52 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:40 AM to 10:20 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Jodhpur<\/td><td><strong>6:50 AM to 9:02 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:50 AM to 10:31 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Lucknow<\/td><td><strong>6:19 AM to 8:31 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:19 AM to 9:59 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Kanpur<\/td><td><strong>6:21 AM to 8:33 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:21 AM to 10:02 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Varanasi<\/td><td><strong>6:09 AM to 8:22 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:09 AM to 9:51 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Agra<\/td><td><strong>6:31 AM to 8:43 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:31 AM to 10:11 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Patna<\/td><td><strong>6:00 AM to 8:13 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:00 AM to 9:42 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ranchi<\/td><td><strong>5:57 AM to 8:11 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>5:57 AM to 9:40 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Kolkata<\/td><td><strong>5:43 AM to 7:58 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>5:43 AM to 9:28 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Bhubaneswar<\/td><td><strong>5:51 AM to 8:06 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>5:51 AM to 9:37 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Guwahati<\/td><td><strong>5:35 AM to 7:47 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>5:35 AM to 9:16 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Bhopal<\/td><td><strong>6:28 AM to 8:42 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:28 AM to 10:12 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Indore<\/td><td><strong>6:34 AM to 8:48 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:34 AM to 10:18 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Raipur<\/td><td><strong>6:09 AM to 8:24 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:09 AM to 9:54 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Nagpur<\/td><td><strong>6:19 AM to 8:34 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:19 AM to 10:04 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ahmedabad<\/td><td><strong>6:47 AM to 9:02 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:47 AM to 10:31 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Surat<\/td><td><strong>6:44 AM to 8:59 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:44 AM to 10:29 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Mumbai<\/td><td><strong>6:41 AM to 8:57 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:41 AM to 10:28 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Pune<\/td><td><strong>6:36 AM to 8:53 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:36 AM to 10:24 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Hyderabad<\/td><td><strong>6:16 AM to 8:34 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:16 AM to 10:05 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Bengaluru<\/td><td><strong>6:15 AM to 8:34 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:15 AM to 10:07 AM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Chennai<\/td><td><strong>6:04 AM to 8:23 AM<\/strong><\/td><td>6:04 AM to 9:56 AM<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">All times IST for Friday 6 November 2026. In Jodhpur and Ahmedabad the later window is cut off by the end of Dwadashi at 10:31 AM. Calculated for each city with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.astro.com\/swisseph\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Swiss Ephemeris<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Break the fast with something light: tulsi water, a fruit, or a little of the prasad from the previous day&#8217;s puja. Many families eat rice at parana, since rice is the grain avoided on Ekadashi. The evening of the same day is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/dhanteras-2026\/\">Dhanteras<\/a>, so plan the meal and the shopping around both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"fasting-rules\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rama Ekadashi fasting rules: what to eat and avoid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are several levels of Ekadashi fast, and families choose according to health and custom:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Nirjala:<\/strong> no food or water from sunrise on Ekadashi until parana. This is the strictest form and is not for everyone.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Jalahar or ksheerahar:<\/strong> water only, or milk and water.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Phalahar:<\/strong> fruit, milk, curd, nuts and fasting foods such as sabudana, kuttu (buckwheat), singhara (water chestnut) flour, potato and sweet potato, cooked with rock salt (sendha namak).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whatever level you choose, the common rules are the same. Avoid rice and all grains, pulses and beans, onion, garlic, and ordinary table salt. Many Vaishnavas also avoid spinach, brinjal and certain spices. Pluck tulsi leaves for the puja on Dashami, the day before, because tulsi is not cut on Ekadashi. Keep the mind quiet as well as the stomach: avoid arguments, gossip and oversleeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elderly people, children, anyone who is unwell, pregnant women and people on regular medication can keep a phalahar fast or simply observe the puja and the food rules. Check with your doctor before a strict fast if you have a medical condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"puja-vidhi\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rama Ekadashi puja vidhi<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>On Dashami (4 November):<\/strong> eat one simple meal before sunset, without rice, and pluck the tulsi leaves you will need.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Ekadashi morning (5 November):<\/strong> bathe early, ideally in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/brahma-muhurta\/\">Brahma Muhurta<\/a>, wear clean clothes, and take a sankalp for the fast with water and a flower in your right palm.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Place an image of Vishnu, or Krishna in his Damodara form, with Lakshmi on a yellow cloth. Offer water, sandalwood, yellow flowers, tulsi, fruit, a ghee lamp and incense.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Chant <em>Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya<\/em> 108 times, or recite the Vishnu Sahasranama. Because this Ekadashi is named after Lakshmi, many families add the Shri Suktam or <em>Om Shreem Mahalakshmyai Namah<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Read or listen to the Rama Ekadashi katha below and do the aarti.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>In the evening, light a lamp near the tulsi plant. Kartik is the month of deep daan, and many people float or offer lamps every evening of the month.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Stay awake for part of the night with bhajans if you can (jagran), and avoid daytime sleep.<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Dwadashi morning (6 November):<\/strong> bathe, offer food to Vishnu, give something to a needy person or a Brahmin, and break the fast inside your city&#8217;s parana window.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rama Ekadashi falls on the same day as Govatsa Dwadashi this year, because Dwadashi tithi begins at 10:36 AM on 5 November and covers the evening. In Maharashtra and Gujarat this is Vasu Baras, when cows and calves are worshipped in the evening, opening the Diwali week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"vrat-katha\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rama Ekadashi vrat katha<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The story is told by Krishna to Yudhishthira in the Ekadashi mahatmya tradition, and is usually attributed to the Brahma Vaivarta Purana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">King Muchukunda was a great devotee of Vishnu, and in his kingdom no one ate on Ekadashi; even the animals were not fed. His daughter Chandrabhaga was married to Shobhan, a gentle prince who was physically weak. One Kartik, Shobhan came to stay at his father-in-law&#8217;s palace just as Rama Ekadashi arrived, and the drums announced the fast across the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shobhan was afraid he could not survive a day without food. Chandrabhaga told him gently that no one in her father&#8217;s kingdom broke the Ekadashi, and that if he could not fast he would have to go elsewhere. Shobhan chose to keep the fast. By night he was exhausted, and before the next sunrise he died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because he had kept the fast, Shobhan was reborn as the ruler of a splendid kingdom on Mount Mandarachal. But he had fasted out of fear rather than devotion, so the kingdom was unstable, like a dream that could vanish at dawn. Years later a Brahmin from Muchukunda&#8217;s city found him there and carried the news back to Chandrabhaga, who had kept every Ekadashi since she was a child. She travelled to the mountain and gave her husband the merit of all her fasts. The kingdom became permanent, and the two lived there together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The usual reading of the story is that the inner attitude of a fast matters as much as the fast itself, and that merit earned with devotion can carry others too. Rama Ekadashi is traditionally said to remove even serious sins for those who keep it with faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rama Ekadashi in the Diwali week<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This Ekadashi opens the festival week of 2026. Dhanteras follows on 6 November, Choti Diwali lamps on 7 November, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/narak-chaturdashi-2026\/\">Narak Chaturdashi<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/diwali-2026-lakshmi-puja-muhurat\/\">Diwali Lakshmi Puja<\/a> on 8 November. The next Ekadashi is Dev Uthani Ekadashi on 20 November, when Vishnu is believed to wake from his four-month sleep and wedding season reopens. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/november-2026-horoscope\/\">November 2026 horoscope<\/a> lists all the month&#8217;s key dates by Moon sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Rama Ekadashi morning the Moon is in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/uttara-phalguni-nakshatra\/\">Uttara Phalguni<\/a>, a nakshatra ruled by the Sun and linked with Aryaman, the god of contracts and loyal friendship. For the tithi, nakshatra and Rahu Kaal on any day of your fast, check the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/daily-panchang\">daily Panchang<\/a>. If you keep vrats for a particular wish, such as marriage, children or career, a reading of your own chart through our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/premium-reports\">premium reports<\/a> can show which planetary period you are in and which remedies suit it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"faq\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When is Rama Ekadashi in 2026?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thursday, 5 November 2026, in India. Ekadashi tithi runs from 11:03 AM on 4 November to 10:36 AM on 5 November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the Rama Ekadashi parana time in 2026?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On 6 November. In Delhi the preferred window is 6:36 AM to 8:48 AM, in Mumbai 6:41 AM to 8:57 AM and in Kolkata 5:43 AM to 7:58 AM. Break the fast before Dwadashi ends at 10:31 AM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is it called Rama Ekadashi?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rama here is a name of Lakshmi, not of Lord Rama. Since the Ekadashi falls a few days before Diwali, Vishnu is worshipped together with Lakshmi on this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can I drink water on Rama Ekadashi?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, unless you are keeping a nirjala fast. Water, milk and fruit are allowed in most forms of the vrat. Grains, rice and pulses are what everyone avoids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is Rama Ekadashi on 4 November in the USA and UK?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. In those time zones Ekadashi is present at local sunrise on 4 November, so overseas calendars fast on the 4th and break the fast on the 5th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>How these timings were worked out: the Ekadashi and Dwadashi tithis, Hari Vasara, sunrise, sunset and the parana windows were calculated by Nakshatra Finder for each city with the Swiss Ephemeris, and the New Delhi dates were checked against published panchangs. Fasting customs vary between families and sampradayas.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rama Ekadashi 2026 is on Thursday 5 November, with parana on the morning of Dhanteras, 6 November. Parana times for 30 cities, why some calendars show 4 November, the fasting rules, the story of Shobhan and Chandrabhaga, and the puja vidhi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[60,59,61,62],"class_list":["post-179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-festivals","tag-ekadashi","tag-festivals","tag-rama-ekadashi","tag-vrat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":371,"href":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions\/371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nakshatrafinder.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}