Ekadashi Shraddha
Shraddha for ancestors who passed away on Ekadashi tithi.
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This festival's date rule is applied exactly as documented, but it has not yet passed the platform's Jyotish review (an automated review against the classical texts and published Panchangs). Regional Panchangs may differ; confirm with your family priest or local temple.
- CategoryShraddha
- Defining tithi / momentKrishna Paksha Ekadashi: to
- Lunar monthBhadrapada Krishna Paksha (Amanta) · Ashwin Krishna Paksha (Purnimanta)
Timings on Sunday, 26 September 2027
- Kutup Muhurat to 0 h 48 min · 26/09/2027 (Sun)
- Rohina Muhurat to 0 h 48 min · 26/09/2027 (Sun)
- Aparahna to 2 h 25 min · 26/09/2027 (Sun)
Rule applied: Smarta — The tithi covers the required time on this day only.
About Ekadashi Shraddha
Significance
Ekadashi Shraddha, often called Gyaras Shraddha in Hindi-speaking regions, is for ancestors who died on an Ekadashi in either fortnight. The Ekadashi of this fortnight is Indira Ekadashi. Its story in the Ekadashi-mahatmya, told by Krishna to Yudhishthira, is of King Indrasena, who learned from Narada that his father was suffering in Yama’s realm and released him by keeping this Ekadashi with a Shraddha; the day is therefore closely tied to the welfare of ancestors.
The Mahabharata’s tithi list (Anushasana Parva, Section 87) links the eleventh day with wealth in clothes and vessels and with sons of spiritual radiance, and the Brahma Purana’s list with Vedic learning.
How and where it is observed
A Shraddha on the day of the Ekadashi fast raises a practical question that the digests discuss and that families answer differently. A commonly cited resolution is that the Shraddha is still performed on its proper tithi and the brahmanas are fed, while the performer who keeps the fast does not eat the cooked offering but only smells it; other families prepare the Shraddha with foods permitted on a fast, and some Vaishnava families move the meal to Dwadashi. Dharma Sindhu also lists Ekadashi as a day from which a shortened Mahalaya may begin. Follow your family custom or purohit.
Rituals
The order is the familiar one: invitation of brahmanas, the afternoon meal in their honour, pinda-dana, tarpana with sesame water, and shares for the cow, dog and crow. Although Dharma Sindhu names Ekadashi among the days on which sesame-water offerings are normally avoided in daily worship, it allows them in the Mahalaya and at Gaya, so tila-tarpana is offered on this day as on the others.
How the date is fixed
The Shraddha date is Bhadrapada Krishna Ekadashi (Amanta), the same as Ashvina Krishna Ekadashi (Purnimanta), chosen by the tithi in the afternoon Aparahna. The Indira Ekadashi fast is fixed differently: by the tithi at sunrise in Smarta practice, or already at Arunodaya, 96 minutes before sunrise, in Vaishnava practice. The fast and the Shraddha can therefore fall on different dates; the fast dates are given on the Ekadashi pages.
Sources
- Dharma Sindhu, Dwitiya Pariccheda, Bhadrapada: Mahalaya Paksha, Proshthapadi, Bharani, Magha-Trayodashi, Shastrahata Chaturdashi and Kapila Shashthi (English condensation: V.D.N. Rao, Essence of Dharma Sindhu, ch. 7)
- Dharma Sindhu, Tritiya Pariccheda, Shraddha-prakarana (English condensation: V.D.N. Rao, Essence of Dharma Sindhu, ch. 26)
- Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva, Section 87 (K.M. Ganguli translation): Bhishma on Shraddha and the result of each lunar day
- Brahma Purana, Shraddha-kalpa: tithi-wise list for the fortnight when the Sun is in Kanya (as summarised in Essence of Dharma Sindhu, ch. 7)
- Indira Ekadashi vrata-katha, Ekadashi-mahatmya (Krishna’s narration to Yudhishthira)
Customs differ between regions, communities and families; this description is background, not a prescription. The date above is calculated by the rule shown on this page.
How the date is determined
- In the Amanta system (months end at the new moon) this is Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha Ekadashi; in the Purnimanta system used in most of North India (months end at the full moon) the same day is called Ashwin Krishna Paksha Ekadashi.
- It falls on the day when this tithi prevails during Aparahna — the fourth fifth of the daytime, in the afternoon.
- If the tithi prevails at that time on two consecutive days, the day on which it covers more of that period is taken.
- If the tithi does not touch that period on any day (a kshaya tithi), the Hindu day on which the tithi prevails longest is used.
- In a year with an Adhik month of the same name, it is observed in the regular (Nija) month.
- Shraddha is performed in the afternoon: the tithi is chosen by its presence in Aparahna, and the Kutup, Rohina and Aparahna windows of that day are shown.
Traditional variation
This is the date given by the rule shown above for the selected place. It is not the only valid date: regional Panchangs, family customs and sampradayas may observe it on a different day.
Rule source: Shraddha tithi determined by Aparahna vyapti (Nirnaya Sindhu)
Traditions may vary by region and Panchang convention. Times are shown for the selected place, time zone and calculation profile.
Calculated with engine 1.4.2 · rules rules-2026-10-21-2ab12b5d · profile north-lahiri-calibrated v1 · ayanamsa lahiri_drik_compat · astronomy-engine@2.1.19 · Asia/Kolkata
Dates in 2026
| Date | Defining tithi / moment | Time windows | Decision notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06/10/2026 (Tue)
Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha (Amanta) · Ashwin Krishna Paksha (Purnimanta) |
Krishna Paksha Ekadashi: to |
|
Standard rule applied |
Dates in 2027
| Date | Defining tithi / moment | Time windows | Decision notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26/09/2027 (Sun)
Next
Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha (Amanta) · Ashwin Krishna Paksha (Purnimanta) |
Krishna Paksha Ekadashi: to |
|
Standard rule applied |