Shattila Ekadashi 2026 Date

About Shattila Ekadashi

The 'six-sesame' Ekadashi of cold Magha month, when til (sesame) — not just fasting — does the spiritual work. Devotees bathe in sesame water, rub on sesame paste, pour sesame into the homa fire, eat it, give it away, and accept it as a gift. Six uses, one seed.

The vow comes from the Bhavishya-Uttara Purana, where Sage Pulastya answers Sage Dalbhya's question: how can people weighed down by sin escape hell with a small act of charity? His answer is sesame. Black seeds go into the puja and the fire offering; white or brown ones are eaten. The story that follows explains why charity matters as much as fasting. A devout Brahmin woman fasted strictly all her life but never gave anything away. She reached Vishnu's heaven — but her house there was empty. Vishnu sent her back to learn the Shattila vow from the celestial women, and only then did her home fill with grain and wealth. The lesson built into the ritual: what you give is what arrives ahead of you in the next world.