Sayana Ekadasi is the eleventh day of the waxing Moon in the lunar month of Ashadha, at the height of the Kerala monsoon. Vishnu is said to go to sleep on the serpent Ananta for four months. In a state whose capital is named for that sleeping god, Thiruvananthapuram, the city of the lord Ananta, the day is kept with the Ekadasi fast and a visit to a Vishnu temple.
The story
Every Ekadasi is a fast in Kerala, and the temple at Guruvayur keeps each one. The fast is traditionally taken on a single meal the day before, nothing or only fruit on the day, and broken with tulsi water on Dwadasi morning.
The month that follows, Karkidakam, is the leanest of the Kerala year: the Ramayana is read at home each evening, and a medicinal gruel, Karkidaka kanji, is taken for health.
How it is kept
- Ekadasi vrathamNo rice; the strict take only water with tulsi.
- Vishnu SahasranamamRecited at home or at the temple.
- Temple visitTo the nearest Vishnu or Krishna temple, morning and evening.
- ParanaThe fast is broken at the proper hour next morning.
Why this date
Sayana Ekadasi is the Ekadasi of the bright fortnight of Ashadha. The fast is on the day Ekadasi is present at sunrise, arranged so that it is broken during Dwadasi.
Sayana Ekadasi in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Saturday | |
| 2027 | Wednesday | |
| 2028 | Sunday | |
| 2029 | Saturday | |
| 2030 | Thursday | |
| 2031 | Tuesday |
More Kerala festivals
18 JulyGuru Purnimaഗുരുപൂർണ്ണിമ
18 AugustChingam 1ചിങ്ങം ഒന്ന്
17 AprilThrissur Pooramതൃശ്ശൂർ പൂരം
8 MayAkshaya Tritiyaഅക്ഷയ തൃതീയ
15 AprilVishuവിഷു
24 AugustAshtami Rohiniഅഷ്ടമിരോഹിണി
Where to see Sayana Ekadasi
In Kerala
- Padmanabhaswamy Temple, ThiruvananthapuramKeralaVishnu asleep on Ananta, eighteen feet long, seen in three parts through three doors.
- Guruvayur TempleKeralaEvery Ekadasi is observed here; the great one, Guruvayur Ekadasi, comes in Vrischikam.
- Sreevallabha Temple, ThiruvallaKeralaAn ancient Vishnu temple where Kathakali is offered as worship every night.
Across India
- PandharpurMaharashtraAshadhi Ekadashi, the arrival of the great pilgrimage on foot.
- SrirangamTamil NaduThe reclining Vishnu on his island in the Kaveri.
- PuriOdishaThe deities are dressed in gold on their chariots.