Vaishnava Vaikuntha Ekadashi 2026 Date
Vaishnava Vaikuntha Ekadashi 2026 is on Monday, 21 December 2026, on Ekadasi tithi.
Dates are for India (IST). Tithi timings for your city are on the Vaishnava Vaikuntha Ekadashi page.
About Vaishnava Vaikuntha Ekadashi
The 'Vaishnava' label marks the second of two back-to-back Ekadashi observances — the stricter day prescribed for sannyasis, widows, and seekers of moksha, while householders fast the day before. Staunch Vishnu devotees keep both. Falls in Margazhi (Dec–Jan), Vaikuntha Ekadashi's solar window.
When the Ekadashi tithi straddles two sunrises, the Dharmashastra tradition splits the vrata: smarta householders fast on day one, and the 'Vaishnava' fast falls on day two — meant for ascetics, widows, and those pursuing liberation rather than worldly merit. The second day always aligns with Dwadashi's start, making the parana (fast-breaking) window tighter. It must happen after sunrise but only once Hari Vasara — the first quarter of Dwadashi — has passed. The day carries the full Vaikuntha Ekadashi weight at Vaishnava centres: at Srirangam, Ranganatha's utsava murti is carried through the Paramapada Vasal (the 'gate to paradise') into the thousand-pillared hall, and at Tirumala a sealed door in the sanctum is opened. Kerala devotees call the same day Swarga Vathil Ekadashi.
