An Ekādaśī is not complete until it is closed properly on Dvādaśī. The Bhāgavata (9.4.39–40) tells how King Ambarīṣa, waiting on a guest while Dvādaśī was running out, broke his fast with water alone rather than let the tithi pass, for water is counted as both eaten and not eaten. The Nārada Purāṇa (Pūrva-bhāga 4.121.98) adds that when Daśamī touches Ekādaśī at aruṇodaya, that Ekādaśī is set aside and the fast is kept on Dvādaśī. How the day is fixed: Each fortnight has one Dvādaśī day, the one with Dvādaśī at local sunrise after the Ekādaśī. The calendar shows it under its monthly name, most of them forms of Viṣṇu such as Vāmana in Caitra, Dāmodara in Śrāvaṇa and Padmanābha in Āśvina, or under a Mahādvādaśī name when one applies. When the fast moves to Dvādaśī: The fast itself moves to Dvādaśī in two cases. One is a Mahādvādaśī, whether Unmīlanī, Vyañjulī, Trispṛśā, Pakṣavardhinī, Jayā, Vijayā, Jayantī or Pāpanāśinī. The other is an Ekādaśī pierced by Daśamī at aruṇodaya, which the Nārada verse sends to Dvādaśī. This second shift is followed in Vaiṣṇava reckoning. Keep in mind: Whether a household follows these shifts depends on its sampradāya. Smārta and Vaiṣṇava pañcāṅgas can list the fast on different days in the same fortnight. This year: The 2026 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Pāraṇa: Pāraṇa is taken after sunrise while Dvādaśī is still running, outside Hari Vāsara. Many begin with a sip of tulasī water and then a simple meal first offered to Viṣṇu. When Dvādaśī is short: If Dvādaśī ends early in the morning, pāraṇa is done promptly. Following Ambarīṣa, even a sip of water taken within the tithi is held to complete the vrata, and the meal can follow later. Worth remembering: Letting Dvādaśī pass without pāraṇa is counted a fault, so the pāraṇa window matters as much as the fast. When the fast itself moves to Dvādaśī, pāraṇa moves to the following morning. In many homes Dvādaśī morning starts early, with Viṣṇu pūjā and a first meal eaten only after it. What is cooked and eaten first differs from house to house, so follow the elders of your own house.
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