Vaikuṇṭha Ekādaśī, also called Mukkōṭi Ekādaśī, is the Śukla Ekādaśī that falls during solar Dhanur-māsa, the Tamil month of Mārgaḻi. For Śrīvaiṣṇavas and for Viṣṇu devotees across the South it is the most important Ekādaśī of the year, and many who keep no other Ekādaśī fast on this one. The day is marked by the opening of the Paramapada Vāsal, the northern gate of the great Viṣṇu temples, and passing through it is held to be like passing the gate of Vaikuṇṭha itself. No verse naming Vaikuṇṭha Ekādaśī was verified in Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa, chapters 38 to 63, so the observance rests on temple and household practice. How the day is fixed: The day is fixed by the Sun, not by the name of the lunar month. It is the Śukla Ekādaśī prevailing at local sunrise while the Sun is in Dhanus, that is, within solar Dhanur-māsa or Tamil Mārgaḻi. Keep in mind: Taking Mārgaśīrṣa Śukla Ekādaśī alone can pick the wrong day in some years, which is why temple pañcāṅgas hold to the solar month. Smārta and Vaiṣṇava reckonings of Ekādaśī can also differ by a day, so follow the pañcāṅga of your own sampradāya. 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. Gate darśana at dawn: At Śrīraṅgam, Tiruvallikkeṇi and other great Viṣṇu temples the northern Paramapada Vāsal is opened at dawn, within the wider Mārgaḻi festival. At Tirumala and at local Veṅkaṭeśvara temples devotees queue before daybreak for Vaikuṇṭha dvāra darśana. Fast and night vigil: The fast follows the Ekādaśī rule of one's sampradāya and is kept through the day. Those who cannot go to a temple keep the night awake at home with Viṣṇu Sahasranāma and other hymns. Dvādaśī pāraṇa: The fast is broken the next morning on Dvādaśī, within the window the pañcāṅga gives. Worth remembering: Because it follows the solar month, Vaikuṇṭha Ekādaśī falls in some years on Mokṣadā Ekādaśī of Mārgaśīrṣa and in others on Putradā Ekādaśī of Pauṣa. The two names can share one day without being the same observance. Temple schedules for the gate opening and household customs for the fast follow the local sampradāya, whether Śrīvaiṣṇava, Mādhva or Smārta. Some households begin the fast from the evening of Daśamī, and some keep a strict vigil through the night. The surest guide is the practice followed by the elders of one's own house.
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