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Ekadashi in March 2026

The Ekadashis of March 2026: when each tithi begins and ends, and the fast day for each tradition, worked out for your city’s sunrise.

Fast days in Delhi

  • Pāpamocanī Sunday, 15 March Pāraṇa Mon 16 Mar, 06:30 – 08:54
  • Kāmadā Sunday, 29 March Pāraṇa Mon 30 Mar, 06:14 – 07:10

Pāpamocanī, Sunday, 15 March

Phalguna (amanta) / Chaitra (purnimanta), Krishna

Ekadashi from Sat 14 Mar, 08:11 to Sun 15 Mar, 09:17, Delhi time. Both traditions keep Sunday, 15 March.

Smārta: Ekādaśī at sunrise: that day Nirnaya-sindhu p. 58. Vaiṣṇava (Nirṇaya-sindhu): No Daśamī in the 96 minutes before sunrise: that day Nirnaya-sindhu p. 53.

Name: Ekādaśī-māhātmya (1934), f. 54

Kāmadā, Sunday, 29 March

Chaitra, Shukla

Ekadashi from Sat 28 Mar, 08:46 to Sun 29 Mar, 07:46, Delhi time. Both traditions keep Sunday, 29 March.

Smārta: Ekādaśī at sunrise: that day Nirnaya-sindhu p. 58. Vaiṣṇava (Nirṇaya-sindhu): No Daśamī in the 96 minutes before sunrise: that day Nirnaya-sindhu p. 53.

Name: Ekādaśī-māhātmya (1934), f. 59b

Questions

Rules from the Nirṇaya-sindhu, with the page for each.

When is Ekadashi in March 2026?

In Delhi: Pāpamocanī on Sunday, 15 March; Kāmadā on Sunday, 29 March.

What is Ekadashi?

Ekadashi is the eleventh tithi of each half of the lunar month, one in the bright half (Shukla) and one in the dark half (Krishna), so there are usually two a month. A tithi is the time the Moon takes to gain 12° on the Sun. Surya Siddhanta 2.64, 2.66

When do I break the Ekadashi fast (pāraṇa)?

On the next day, while Dvādaśī lasts, since letting Dvādaśī pass unbroken is a grave fault: in the first three muhūrtas after sunrise, but not in Hari-vāsara, the first quarter of Dvādaśī. When Hari-vāsara outlasts those three muhūrtas, in the afternoon, never at midday. If no Dvādaśī is left at sunrise, on Trayodaśī. In a difficulty, water counts as breaking the fast. Dharmasindhu p. 19; Nirṇaya-sindhu pp. 70⁠–⁠71

Why are there two dates for some Ekadashis?

The texts test the Ekadashi day for Dashami, the tithi before it. Smārtas test at sunrise; Vaiṣṇavas test the 96 minutes before sunrise, called aruṇodaya. When Ekadashi or Dvadashi runs long, or Ekadashi touches no sunrise, each tradition keeps its own day. Nirṇaya-sindhu pp. 53⁠–⁠63

Why is the date different in my city?

Each date is worked out for the city’s own sunrise. A tithi begins and ends at the same moment everywhere, but the sunrise it is tested against differs, so a city far to the east or west can keep another day.

Why does my temple calendar show another date?

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava calendars follow the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, which is not among our sources, so their dates can differ from the Nirṇaya-sindhu days shown here.

How the days are found

Read the methodology
Sunrise
At the centre of the Sun’s disc, with refraction, for the chosen city. Every date is that city’s own.
The Dashami tests
Smārta: Dashami at sunrise. Vaiṣṇava (Nirṇaya-sindhu): Dashami at any moment in the 96 minutes before sunrise.
Running long
A tithi runs long when it is still current at the sunrise after its own day: Ekādaśī at the second day's sunrise, Dvādaśī at the third's, counting from the first Ekādaśī day (our reading of Nirnaya-sindhu pp. 59-62).
Pāraṇa
The first three muhūrtas after sunrise, once Hari-vāsara (Dvādaśī’s first quarter) is over and before Dvādaśī ends; else the afternoon, never midday; on Trayodaśī if no Dvādaśī is left. Dharmasindhu p. 19; Nirṇaya-sindhu pp. 70⁠–⁠71.
Sources
Kamalākara Bhaṭṭa, Nirṇaya-sindhu, 1898 printing, pp. 49⁠–⁠63 and 70⁠–⁠71; Dharmasindhu, 1888, p. 19. Names from the Ekādaśī-māhātmya, Banaras, 1934.

Sunrise at the centre of the Sun’s disc, with refraction · Lahiri ayanamsa for month names · each city’s own time · Swiss Ephemeris · Method