Nirjalā Ekādaśī on 7.6.2025

Once, Bhīmasena, the younger brother of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, approached the venerable sage Śrīla Vyāsadeva, grandfather of the Pāṇḍavas, and enquired whether it were possible to return to the spiritual realm without having observed the full range of rules and regulations associated with the Ekādaśī fasts.

Bhīmasena said, "O most intelligent and learned Grandfather, my brother Yudhiṣṭhira, my revered mother Kuntī, my beloved wife Draupadī, and my brothers Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, all observe the Ekādaśī fasts with strict adherence to the prescribed rules, regulations, and injunctions. Being most pious and devout, they are ever exhorting me to do likewise. However, O Grandfather, I have repeatedly told them that I am unable to survive without food, for abstinence from eating is to me quite intolerable. I am capable of giving in charity most generously and worshipping Śrī Keśava with devotion, but I cannot be enjoined to fast on Ekādaśī. I therefore beseech you, tell me whether there is some means by which I may obtain the same spiritual merit without undergoing the fast."

Hearing this earnest appeal, Śrīla Vyāsadeva replied, "If you desire to ascend to the heavenly planets and avoid descent to the infernal regions, you must indeed observe the fasts on both the bright and dark Ekādaśīs."

Bhīmasena responded, "O Grandfather, noblest of sages, pray attend to my humble plea. O foremost of ascetics, since I cannot bear to eat but once a day, how shall I endure complete fasting? Within my belly blazes a special fire, named vṛka, the fire of digestion. Only when I eat to my full satisfaction does this fire abate. O venerable sage, perchance I may be able to fast but once, and therefore I entreat you to name one particular Ekādaśī whose observance is equal in merit to that of all others combined. I shall observe that one fast with full faith and strive thereby to attain liberation."

Śrīla Vyāsadeva replied, "O King, thou hast already heard from me of the various types of dharma, including elaborate Vedic rituals and sacrifices. In this age of Kali, however, none shall be capable of observing all such occupational and ritualistic duties in their entirety. I shall therefore reveal unto thee how, by means of a small austerity and with negligible expenditure, one may attain the greatest spiritual benefit and felicity. The essence of the teachings found in the Vedic scriptures, particularly in the Purāṇas, is that one ought not to consume food on either the bright or dark fortnight Ekādaśīs. He who so fasts is spared the torments of the hellish realms."

Upon hearing these words, Bhīmasena, mightiest of warriors, was seized with trepidation and trembled like a leaf of the banyan tree in a tempest. Thus alarmed, he said, "O Grandfather, what course should I now pursue? I am altogether incapable of fasting twice monthly throughout the year. I pray thee, instruct me regarding a single fasting day that shall confer upon me the highest benefit."

Vyāsadeva answered, "Thou must fast, abstaining even from water, on the Ekādaśī that falls during the bright fortnight of the month of Jyeṣṭha (May–June), when the sun transits the signs of Gemini and Taurus. Learned sages hold that on this day one may bathe and perform ācamana for purification; however, the water taken during ācamana must be limited to but a single drop—no more than the volume of a mustard seed or of a grain of gold. This water should be sipped from the right palm, shaped to resemble a cow’s ear. Should one consume more than this, it is tantamount to drinking wine.

"One must abstain entirely from food, for even the smallest consumption shall break the fast. This rigorous fast must be observed from sunrise on Ekādaśī until sunrise on the following day, Dvādaśī. One who undertakes this strict observance thereby attains the merit of having fasted on all twenty-four Ekādaśīs of the year.

"On Dvādaśī, the devotee ought to bathe early and, according to his means and in accordance with prescribed regulations, offer gold and water in charity to worthy brāhmaṇas. Thereafter, he should honour prasādam in the company of a brāhmaṇa and do so with cheerfulness.

"O Bhīmasena, he who thus fasts on this auspicious day shall surely reap the fruits of observing every Ekādaśī fast of the year. Of this, there is no doubt. Hear now the specific merit of this fast. The Supreme Lord Keśava, wielder of the conch, discus, club, and lotus, has personally declared, 'Let all take refuge in Me and follow My instructions.' He further proclaimed that one who, on this day, fasts without even drinking water is absolved of all sin, and by observing the Nirjalā fast on Jyeṣṭha-śukla Ekādaśī, one accrues the merit of all other Ekādaśī fasts combined.

"O Bhīmasena, in this Kali-yuga, the age of discord and deceit, when the principles of the Vedas shall have been undermined and all proper sacrifices and charitable acts neglected, how shall any attain purification? The sole refuge is the Ekādaśī fast, through which all one’s sins may be eradicated.

"O son of Vāyu, what more need I say? On every Ekādaśī, thou must abstain from food, and on this particular one—Jyeṣṭha-śukla Ekādaśī—thou must also renounce water. O Vṛkodara, he who fasts on this day gains the merit of bathing at all holy tīrthas, of bestowing every form of charity upon the deserving, and of having fasted on all Ekādaśīs in the year—accomplished in a single day. Doubt this not.

"O tiger among men, he who thus fasts becomes possessed of great virtue, strength, wealth, grain, and good health. And at the fearful hour of death, the dread Yamadūtas—whose forms are yellow and black, and who wield iron maces and mystic ropes—shall not draw near. Instead, the celestial Viṣṇu-dūtas, whose divine bodies are clothed in splendid yellow garments and who hold the discus, club, conch, and lotus in their four hands, shall convey the soul to Lord Viṣṇu’s eternal abode.

"It is for these inestimable gains that one ought to observe this sacred and significant fast, even to the extent of renouncing water."

When the other Pāṇḍavas learnt of the manifold benefits to be obtained from observing the Jyeṣṭha-śukla Ekādaśī, they resolved to keep it as Śrīla Vyāsadeva had described it to Bhīmasena. All the Pāṇḍavas thus observed the fast, refraining from all food and water, and the day came to be known as Pāṇḍava Nirjalā Dvādaśī.

Śrīla Vyāsadeva concluded, "O Bhīmasena, observe this essential fast and thereby be absolved of all prior transgressions. Address thy vow (sankalpa) to the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa thus: ‘O Lord of all the devas, O Supreme Personality, today I shall observe Ekādaśī without water. O infinite Ananta, I shall break my fast upon Dvādaśī.’

"Henceforth, with full faith in the Lord and mastery over the senses, observe this sacred fast. Whether thy sins be as vast as Mount Sumeru or Mandarācala, they shall be utterly consumed. Such is the potency of this Ekādaśī.

"O most excellent among men, though it is proper to give water and cows in charity on this day, if one is unable, then one may give cloth or a water pot to a qualified brāhmaṇa. The merit of giving even water equals the giving of gold ten million times each day.

"O Bhīma, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa has said that one who observes this Ekādaśī must take a holy bath, give charity to the worthy, chant the divine Names upon a japa-mālā, and perform some prescribed sacrifice. By so doing, one attains imperishable merit, needing no further religious acts. Observance of this Ekādaśī alone is sufficient to reach the supreme realm of Lord Viṣṇu.

"Be mindful that whosoever consumes grains on Ekādaśī becomes steeped in sin; he verily consumes sin itself and, after death, falls into hell. Yet, he who observes this sacred Jyeṣṭha-śukla Ekādaśī and makes charitable offerings shall be delivered from saṃsāra and reach the highest abode.

"This Ekādaśī, which overlaps with Dvādaśī, absolves one even of the heinous sins of brahmahatyā (killing of a brāhmaṇa), imbibing of intoxicants, betrayal of one's spiritual master, and habitual lying.

"Moreover, any man or woman who properly observes this fast and worships the Supreme Lord Jalaśāyī (He who reposes on the ocean), and who on the morrow satisfies a qualified brāhmaṇa with sweets and donations of cows and wealth, surely delights Lord Vāsudeva. Nay, even one hundred previous generations of that person, no matter how sinful or wretched, are delivered to the Supreme Abode.

"Such is the glory of this wondrous Ekādaśī, and such the celestial vimāna that awaits he who observes it faithfully."

Thus ends the discourse of Śrīla Vyāsadeva to Bhīmasena concerning the observance and merits of the Nirjalā Ekādaśī.

Source: Chapter 14, Ekadasi: The Day of Lord Hari by Krsna Balaram Swami