Devśayanī Ekādaśī marks the day Viṣṇu is described as entering yogic sleep (yoganidrā) upon Ananta Śeṣa in the Kṣīrasāgara. Unlike most named Ekādaśīs, it carries no rescued sage or liberated preta, and its basis is cosmological and theological rather than narrative. The day opens Cāturmāsya, the four months of austerity that run through Dakṣiṇāyana until Prabodhinī or Devotthāna Ekādaśī in Kārtika wakes Viṣṇu again. Fasting and prayer on this day are held to set the tone for the whole sacred season. How the day is fixed: The fast is kept on the day when Āṣāḍha Śukla Ekādaśī prevails at local sunrise. Pāraṇa follows on Dvādaśī morning within the window given in the local pañcāṅga. Keep in mind: Being a bright-fortnight tithi, it carries the name Āṣāḍha in both amānta and pūrṇimānta calendars. Because the tithi is read at local sunrise, the day can differ by one between distant places. 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. The fast: The fast follows the standard grain-free convention and is not a waterless one. Water, fruit and milk are taken, and pāraṇa closes it on Dvādaśī morning. Cāturmāsya vows: Many Vaiṣṇavas begin the four-month Cāturmāsya with a restricted diet and limited travel. Renunciates stay in one place for the season. A pause on weddings: Because Viṣṇu is held to be in yogic rest, many communities avoid beginning marriages and other major auspicious ceremonies until Devotthāna Ekādaśī reopens the season. This follows from the theological framing rather than from any story. Worth remembering: Devśayanī opens the season that Prabodhinī Ekādaśī closes in Kārtika, and the two are separate days. Nirjalā Ekādaśī in Jyeṣṭha, not this one, is the waterless fast. Regional custom gives this day very different faces. Maharashtra keeps it as the Āṣāḍhī vārī to Pandharpur, Gujarat as Devpoḍhī with the Moḷākat vow, Telugu homes as Toli Ekādaśi, and Odisha as Harisayana after the Bāhuḍā return. Within each family the Cāturmāsya vows also differ, so the surest guide is the practice the elders of your own house have kept.
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