tamil
Vaikunta Ekadasi
வைகுண்ட ஏகாதசி
December–January · 1 day
Vaikunta Ekadasi is the most important Ekadasi of the year for Tamil Sri Vaishnavas — particularly Iyengar families. It falls on the eleventh day (Ekadasi) of the bright fortnight of Margazhi (December-January), in the cold heart of Tamil winter. The Vaishnava belief is that on this day the Paramapada Vasal — the northern gate of Vaikunta, Vishnu's celestial abode — opens, and anyone who passes through the corresponding gate at a Vishnu temple is granted darshan that day in Vishnu's true heaven. Major temples (Srirangam, Tirumala, the Sri Vaishnava temples of Kanchipuram) open a special northern door at midnight; tens of thousands queue from the previous evening. The day is kept with a strict fast — no grains — broken the following morning at the Dwadasi parana.
What to do
Ekadasi fast (vrat)
EssentialA strict no-grain fast — no rice, wheat, or pulses — from sunrise on Ekadasi to the Dwadasi parana window the next morning. Fruit, dairy, and vrat foods (sabudana, kuttu, singhada, water chestnut flour) are permitted.
Vaikunta Dwaram passage (gate walk)
EssentialAt midnight (or early morning) the temple opens a special northern door — the Vaikunta Dwaram or Paramapada Vasal — that is closed the rest of the year. Devotees walk through it as a symbolic passage through Vaikunta's celestial gate.
Nalayira Divya Prabandham recitation
EssentialThe 4,000 Tamil verses of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham — composed by the twelve Alvars between the 6th and 9th centuries — are recited at Sri Vaishnava temples throughout the day and night of Vaikunta Ekadasi.
Dwadasi parana (fast-breaking)
EssentialThe Ekadasi fast must be broken the next morning at the parana window on Dwadasi — a specific hour determined by the local sunrise. Breaking the fast outside this window is considered to negate the fast.
Getting ready
Find local Sri Vaishnava or Venkateswara temple program; confirm Vaikunta Dwaram opening time
community
Check Dwadasi parana window for your local sunrise — Drik Panchang app
home
Stock vrat foods if fasting (fruit, dairy, sabudana, kuttu, singhada flour)
food
Plan simple Dwadasi parana meal — rice, ghee, vegetable poriyal, sweet
food
Set up home puja: Vishnu or Balaji murti, fresh tulsi, fresh flowers, kuthu vilakku
home
Sunrise on Ekadasi: bath, sankalpa for the fast
ritual
Midnight or temple's specified time: walk through Vaikunta Dwaram
ritual
Dwadasi morning: parana within the correct window with a simple meal
ritual
In the diaspora
Vaikunta Ekadasi is one of the largest Sri Vaishnava temple events in the US calendar. Sri Venkateswara Temple (Penn Hills PA, Bridgewater NJ), Sri Ranganatha Temple (Pomona NY), Balaji Temple (Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Aurora IL, the major Bay Area temples) open a special Vaikunta Dwaram for the day and stage overnight Nalayira Divya Prabandham recitations. Devotees walk through the gate at midnight or early morning; many queue from the previous evening. At home, the day is kept with a strict Ekadasi fast (no grains, no rice, no wheat) — fruit, dairy, and the vrat-friendly singhada and sabudana preparations only. The Dwadasi parana the next morning is timed precisely; the Drik Panchang app gives the correct local window.
When is Vaikunta Ekadasi?
- Vaikunta Ekadasi 2025
- January 10, 2025
- Vaikunta Ekadasi 2026
- December 20, 2026
- Vaikunta Ekadasi 2028
- January 8, 2028
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Add Vaikunta Ekadasi 2026 (2026-12-20) — free, no account needed.
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