Rama Ekadashi
Fasting day
From grains and beans, from sunrise
Break the fast ·
6:40 – 10:17 AM
Break the fast after sunrise and before a third of the day has passed.
What is Rama Ekadashi?
Rama Ekadashi, written Ramaa in some texts, is the Ekadashi, the eleventh lunar day, of the dark fortnight of the month of Kartika. In 2026 devotees fast on Thursday, 5 November.
Significance
The Brahma-vaivarta Purana, one of the ancient Vedic histories, records Lord Sri Krishna describing this Ekadashi to Maharaja Yudhishthira. He calls it most auspicious, for it at once eradicates the greatest sins and awards passage to the spiritual abode.
The story is of Prince Shobhana, a weak man who tried to fast at the palace of his father-in-law, King Muchukunda, and left his body by dawn. Because he fasted without faith, the kingdom he won on Mandaracala Mountain was temporary. His wife Chandrabhaga, who had fasted on every Ekadashi since the age of eight, gave him her merit and made it lasting. Srila Prabhupada explained why Ekadashi matters:
To observe Ekādaśī-vrata and Dvādaśī-vrata means to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.4.29, purport
How to observe it
Grains and beans are avoided. Keep the rest of the day simple, and give it to more chanting of the holy names and more hearing about Krishna. The fast is kept mainly to please the Lord. It is broken on Friday, 6 November, between 6:40 AM and 10:17 AM at Kurukshetra.
Questions
When is Rama Ekadashi in 2026?
Rama Ekadashi is on Thursday, 5 November 2026.
What time should I break the Rama Ekadashi fast in Kurukshetra?
Break the fast on Friday, 6 November 2026, between 6:40 AM (sunrise) and 10:17 AM (one third of the day) IST.
Who told the story of Rama Ekadashi?
Lord Sri Krishna told it to Maharaja Yudhishthira, as recorded in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana.
What should I not eat on Rama Ekadashi?
Do not eat grains or beans. If even a little grain is eaten, even by mistake, the Ekadashi fast is considered broken.
Reviewed by ISKCON Kurukshetra · Updated
Key facts
- Fasting day
- Break fast
- · 6:40–10:17 AM
- Fast from
- Grains and beans
- Narrated by
- Lord Sri Krishna to Maharaja Yudhishthira
- Purana
- Brahma-vaivarta Purana
Seva for this day
Feed devotees and visitors on this holy day, or begin the Bhagavad-gita course with us.