रमा एकादशी (Rama Ekadashi)

When is Rama Ekadashi?

Kartika Krishna Ekadashi in the inspected chapter's month naming; dates are scoped to New Delhi Smarta, with the separately stored 2027 Vaishnava alternate. Month names can differ between calendar conventions.

जाँचे गए अध्याय के मास-नाम में कार्तिक कृष्ण एकादशी; तिथियाँ नई दिल्ली स्मार्त संदर्भ की हैं, साथ में 2027 की अलग संचित वैष्णव तिथि है। कैलेंडर-पद्धति के अनुसार मास-नाम बदल सकते हैं।

• Thursday, 5 November 2026 (New Delhi reference · Smarta tradition)
  Checked 2026-09-29 against: Drik Panchang — 2026 Ekadashi dates, New Delhi · Prokerala — Rama Ekadashi 2026, New Delhi

Dates can differ by a day in other places and traditions. For your city, check a local panchang or your temple calendar.

What to read

• ॐ जय जगदीश हरे (आरती) (Om Jai Jagdish Hare)
• श्री विष्ण्वष्टोत्तर शतनामावलिः (Vishnu Ashtottara Shatanamavali — 108 Names)
• श्री विष्णु सहस्रनाम स्तोत्रम् (Shri Vishnu Sahasranamam)

Puja outline

1. Choose optional prayer with or without fasting according to health needs and medical advice. Do not pressure another person to fast or stop care.
   स्वास्थ्य-ज़रूरत और चिकित्सकीय सलाह के अनुसार उपवास के साथ या बिना उपवास वैकल्पिक प्रार्थना चुनें। किसी पर उपवास का दबाव न डालें और चिकित्सा न रोकें।
2. Use a clean prayer space and an existing Vishnu image if you wish. No purchase is required.
   स्वच्छ पूजा-स्थान और चाहें तो विष्णु का उपलब्ध चित्र उपयोग करें। खरीदारी आवश्यक नहीं है।
3. Flowers or tulsi are optional offerings. Keep any diya attended and extinguish it before leaving or sleeping.
   फूल या तुलसी वैकल्पिक अर्पण हैं। दीपक की निगरानी रखें और जाने या सोने से पहले बुझाएँ।
4. Choose one complete Vishnu prayer; these links are choices, not a compulsory three-text sequence.
   विष्णु का कोई एक पूर्ण पाठ चुनें; ये लिंक विकल्प हैं, तीन पाठों का अनिवार्य क्रम नहीं।
5. Keep ordinary food, water and care available to children, dependants and animals. The story's royal restrictions are not household instructions.
   बच्चों, आश्रितों और पशुओं के लिए सामान्य भोजन, पानी और देखभाल उपलब्ध रखें। कथा के राजकीय प्रतिबंध घरेलू निर्देश नहीं हैं।
6. If you choose to fast, follow your own location and tradition's parana guidance. No waterless fast, vigil, compulsory gift or universal clock time is prescribed here.
   व्रत चुनें तो अपने स्थान और परंपरा के पारण निर्देश देखें। यहाँ निर्जल व्रत, जागरण, अनिवार्य दान या सबके लिए एक घड़ी का समय निर्धारित नहीं है।

A simple household outline. Customs differ by family, region and tradition; follow your own tradition or priest where it differs.

Chandrabhaga and Shobhana: a short overview

In chapter 60, Muchukunda's strict household fast puts his already weak son-in-law Shobhana in distress; he dies. The narrative later places him in a celestial city. Somasharman conveys his message to Chandrabhaga, who travels via Vamadeva's hermitage and is reunited with him. The source attributes the city's stability to her devotion. This original summary is not the complete katha or a promise about bereavement.

The story is not permission to enforce a fast

The source includes pressure to abstain, restrictions on animals and childhood observance. None is adopted as a rule here. Do not withhold food or water from children, dependants or animals, treat weakness as deficient faith, or blame illness or bereavement on spiritual failure. The passage saying Chandrabhaga did not burn with her husband is narrative context, never an endorsement of widow self-harm. Devotion does not replace food, water, treatment or care.

Source scope and tradition

The Sanskrit witness has numbered verses 1–54 and a separate chapter-60 colophon; the English witness groups the same account. Both were inspected, but they are on the same publisher's site, not independent editions. Supernatural reunion, merit and liberation remain devotional claims, not guaranteed results. No ritual formula is extracted, and the complete selected account remains pending its own reusable-source and reader checks.

Dates and alternates

The stored dates and their 29 September 2026 evidence timestamps are unchanged. Fresh AstroSage New Delhi yearly lists corroborate the two main dates only, not a new source-pair check or a fresh verification of the 2027 Vaishnava alternate. No 2026 alternate, universal parana time or additional year is inferred. Rama here is the observance named Ramā in chapter 60, not the separate Ram Navami festival.

Frequently asked questions

When is Rama Ekadashi in 2026 and 2027?

The stored New Delhi Smarta dates are Thursday, 5 November 2026 and Monday, 25 October 2027. The stored 2027 Vaishnava alternate is Tuesday, 26 October. Check your own location and tradition.

Is the complete Rama Ekadashi katha available?

Not yet. This page gives a short original chapter overview with its source boundary, not a complete recitation reader.

Must children or animals fast because of the story?

No. This page rejects coercion and withholding food or water. Keep ordinary care available; the ancient narrative is not a household instruction.

Does the story promise reunion or prove a lack of faith?

No. Its supernatural claims are devotional narrative, not predictions or grounds to blame a grieving or unwell person.

What can I read without fasting?

Om Jai Jagdish Hare, the selected Vishnu 108-name reader or Vishnu Sahasranamam are complete optional choices. No compulsory sequence is supplied.