Apara Ekadashi 2028: Date, Parana Time & Vrat Vidhi

Parana (breaking the fast) is on Sunday, 21 May 2028, from 5:27 AM to 8:11 AM (New Delhi).

Break with water and tulsi, then fruit, then a light non-grain meal; a full meal after.

It is the grain-free Ekadashi fast (the fasting and parana rules are on the Ekadashi page), kept for the clearing of grave fault and for the release of a departed soul.

By its mahatmya it removes the sin of brahmahatya, of slander and false witness, and its merit is 'apara' — without limit.

The Brahmanda Purana tells that King Mahidhwaja was killed by his jealous younger brother Vajradhwaja and buried under a pipal tree; his restless ghost troubled the place. The sage Dhaumya, passing by, kept the Apara Ekadashi and gave its merit to the ghost, who was freed of the preta form and rose to heaven.

Source: Brahmanda Purana — the Apara Ekadashi mahatmya

The Apara Ekadashi mahatmya is given in the Brahmanda Purana; the day-rule, parana and vrat vidhi are those of every Ekadashi (see the Ekadashi page). It falls in Jyeshtha near Nirjala Ekadashi and Ganga Dussehra.

• Brahmanda Purana — the Apara Ekadashi mahatmya
• Padma Purana — the Ekadashi mahatmyas

1. After the morning bath, Vishnu is worshipped as Trivikrama with tulsi, sandal paste, flowers and a lamp.
2. The Brahmanda Purana's katha tells of King Mahidhvaja, whose restless spirit was freed when a sage gave him the merit of this fast; its name, apara, means 'boundless'.
3. It is also called Achala Ekadashi; in Odisha it is Jalakrida Ekadashi, when the deity is taken out for a water-play festival.

• Pan-Indian (Vaishnava). Kept for the clearing of grave fault and for the peace of a departed soul, with a Vishnu puja and tarpana.

• Phalahar — Mango, watermelon, buttermilk and sabudana khichdi for the Jyeshtha heat.
• Parana — Broken with tulsi water and a cooling fruit before a light meal.

Apara Ekadashi is kept on the day when Ekadashi of Jyeshtha Krishna paksha prevails at sunrise. That day is Saturday, 20 May 2028. Ekadashi holds at sunrise only on this day.

at sunrise

Apara Ekadashi is the Krishna Ekadashi of Jyeshtha — the Moon 120°–132° behind the Sun (sidereal, Lahiri), with the Sun in sidereal Vrishabha. See the Ekadashi page for the day-rule and the Smarta / Vaishnava difference; the Gregorian date drifts about 11 days earlier each year.

A lunar date: Ekadashi of the dark half of Jyeshtha drifts about 11 days earlier each solar year, then jumps back ~19 days when a leap (Adhika) month is inserted.