Bhaimi Ekadashi
Fasting day
From grains and beans, from sunrise
Break the fast ·
7:00 – 10:44 AM
Break the fast after sunrise and before a third of the day has passed.
What is Bhaimi Ekadashi?
Bhaimi Ekadashi falls on the eleventh lunar day of the bright fortnight of Magha, the month that spans January and February. Bhaimi is the name used in Vaishnava calendars, while the scriptures know the same day as Jaya Ekadashi. Devotees keep the fast in 2027 on Wednesday, 17 February.
Significance
In the Padma Purana, Lord Sri Krishna tells Maharaja Yudhishthira how Jaya Ekadashi freed Malyavan and Pushpavati, two heavenly performers whom Lord Indra had cursed to live as ghostly pisachas on a freezing Himalayan peak. Without knowing what day it was, they ate nothing, drank no water and stayed awake all night. By morning they were released, and they returned to the heavens. Lord Krishna says this Ekadashi frees one from ghostly existence and from birth and death. The fast was honoured even in Vrindavan, Krishna's own village, as the Srimad-Bhagavatam shows:
Having worshiped Lord Janārdana and fasted on the Ekādaśī day, Nanda Mahārāja entered the water of the Kālindī on the Dvādaśī to take his bath.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.28.1
How to observe it
Malyavan and Pushpavati were saved by a fast they kept unknowingly. Devotees keep it knowingly and offer the day to Lord Vishnu. From sunrise on 17 February they set aside grains and beans and spend the hours chanting and hearing the story of this Ekadashi. At Kurukshetra the fast is broken the next morning, Thursday, 18 February, between 7:00 AM and 10:44 AM. The Varaha Dvadasi festival falls on that same morning.
Read more: Jaya Ekadashi
Questions
When is Jaya (Bhaimi) Ekadashi in 2027?
Jaya Ekadashi falls on Wednesday, 17 February 2027, and Vaishnava calendars list it as Bhaimi Ekadashi. It is the Ekadashi of the bright fortnight of Magha.
What time should I break the Bhaimi Ekadashi fast in Kurukshetra?
At Kurukshetra, break the fast on Thursday, 18 February 2027, between 7:00 AM (sunrise) and 10:44 AM (one third of the daylight) IST.
Is Bhaimi Ekadashi the same as Jaya Ekadashi?
Yes, it is one day with two names. Vaishnava calendars call the Magha Ekadashi of the bright fortnight Bhaimi, and Lord Krishna calls it Jaya in the Padma Purana.
What are the benefits of keeping Jaya Ekadashi?
According to the Padma Purana, the fast frees one from ghostly existence and from birth and death. Even hearing its story is said to bring the merit of an Agnistoma sacrifice.
Reviewed by ISKCON Kurukshetra · Updated
Key facts
- Fasting day
- Break fast
- · 7:00–10:44 AM
- Fast from
- Grains and beans
- Also known as
- Jaya Ekadashi
- Story told in
- Padma Purana
Seva for this day
Feed devotees and visitors on this holy day, or begin the Bhagavad-gita course with us.