Aja Ekadashi 2026: Date, Shubh Muhurat, Paran Time, Vrat Katha & Mantra

Aja Ekadashi 2026 falls on Monday, 7 September 2026. It is the Ekadashi of the Krishna paksha of Bhadrapada — the fast that lifts the weight of past wrongs — and the fast is broken (paran) on Tuesday, 8 September 2026 between 06:03 AM and 02:44 PM.

Below is the complete guide to Aja Ekadashi 2026: the tithi timings, the shubh muhurat, the paran window and how it was worked out, the vrat vidhi, the vrat katha and the mantras of Lord Vishnu. Every date and time on this page is computed from our own Vedic panchang for Delhi, not copied from a calendar — you can check any of them yourself on our free daily Panchang.

Aja Ekadashi 2026: date, tithi and paran

Aja Ekadashi 2026 shubh muhurat (Delhi)

• Brahma Muhurat: 04:26 AM to 05:14 AM
• Abhijit Muhurat: 11:55 AM to 12:43 PM
• Sunrise / Sunset: 06:02 / 18:36
• Rahu Kaal (avoid): 07:36 AM to 09:11 AM

The engine puts the Moon in Punarvasu (lord Jupiter) with the auspicious Variyan yoga running — a gentle, forgiving combination that suits a fast built around letting go of the past.

These timings are for Delhi. Sunrise moves by up to about forty minutes across India, and the muhurats move with it — enter your own city on the Panchang for your local figures.

Aja Ekadashi paran (fast-breaking) time

The paran is on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, from 06:03 AM to 02:44 PM. Hari Vasara (the first quarter of Dwadashi) ends on 7 September at 10:29 PM, well before sunrise, so the whole morning window is open.

The window is worked out this way: the fast is broken on Dwadashi, after sunrise, once Hari Vasara — the first quarter of the Dwadashi tithi, in which paran is forbidden — has passed, and before the Dwadashi tithi itself ends. Breaking the fast early in the window is considered better than late, and leaving it until after Dwadashi has ended is held to undo the merit of the fast.

Significance of Aja Ekadashi

Aja Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the Krishna paksha of Bhadrapada, and its promise is unusually specific: relief from the accumulated weight of past wrongdoing, and the restoration of what has been lost. The name Aja means "unborn" — a name of Vishnu as the one who was never born and therefore never dies. Devotees keep it when life has taken something away: standing, work, health, a relationship, peace of mind. The katha below is not a story about a poor man being made rich; it is about a king who lost everything while doing the right thing, and got it back without ever compromising.

Aja Ekadashi vrat vidhi — how to keep the fast

• Rise in the Brahma Muhurat (04:26 AM to 05:14 AM), bathe, and take the sankalpa — say plainly what the fast is for.
• Clean the puja space, place an image or idol of Lord Vishnu, and light a ghee lamp.
• Offer tulsi leaves, yellow flowers, sandalwood, incense, fruit and panchamrit. Tulsi is essential to any Vishnu vrat — but never pluck tulsi on the Ekadashi day itself; pick the leaves the evening before.
• Chant the Vishnu mantras below and read or listen to the Aja Ekadashi vrat katha.
• Keep the fast as your health allows — nirjala (waterless) is the strictest form and is optional; phalahar with fruit, milk and water is the common practice. Rice and grains are avoided by everyone keeping any Ekadashi.
• Spend the evening in bhajan and the aarti of Lord Vishnu. Many households stay awake (jagran) through the night.
• Break the fast (paran) the next day inside the window given above, after offering food and dakshina to a brahmin or to someone in need.

Aja Ekadashi vrat katha

In the Surya dynasty ruled Harishchandra, a king whose word had never once been broken. Bound by a promise made in a dream to the sage Vishwamitra, he gave away his kingdom, and when the kingdom was not enough to settle the debt he sold his queen Taramati and his son Rohitashva, and finally sold himself — to a keeper of the cremation ground, where he collected the tax on the dead.

Years passed in that terrible work. Then his own son died of a snake bite, and Taramati carried the boy to the very cremation ground her husband guarded. Neither recognised the other at first. When they did, Harishchandra still could not let the body pass: he was a servant, the tax was owed, and a servant who breaks his master’s rule is no better than a liar. Taramati had nothing to give. The king stood there, holding to a truth that was costing him his last child.

The sage Gautama found him in that state and told him what to do: keep the fast of the Bhadrapada Krishna Ekadashi, and dedicate its merit to the release of what had been taken from him. Harishchandra kept the vrat with the little strength left to him.

By the merit of that fast the gods came down. His son was restored to life, his queen to her rank, his kingdom to his hands — and not one of his promises had been broken to get any of it back. That is why Aja Ekadashi is kept by anyone carrying a loss they did not deserve, and by anyone who wants the weight of an old wrong lifted.

Mantras to chant on Aja Ekadashi

Chant these during the puja and through the day’s japa:

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय॥

ॐ नमो नारायणाय॥

शान्ताकारं भुजगशयनं पद्मनाभं सुरेशं
विश्वाधारं गगनसदृशं मेघवर्णं शुभाङ्गम्‌॥

ॐ श्रीं ह्रीं क्लीं महालक्ष्म्यै नमः॥

The complete aarti, chalisa and mantra texts are in our devotional library, and the Ekadashi Mata aarti is the one most families sing at the evening lamp.

Book a puja for Aja Ekadashi 2026

Aja Ekadashi is a Vishnu vrat, and the Satyanarayan Katha is the Vishnu puja most families keep after a vow is fulfilled or a difficulty passes. If you would rather have it performed properly by pandits on your behalf, with sankalp in your name, a recorded video, photographs and prasad couriered to you, these are the two that fit this vrat:

• Satyanarayan Katha Puja — from ₹3,100
• Kasht Nivaran Puja — from ₹2,000

Every puja is available in Individual, Family and Maha tiers; the full list is in the online puja store.

Aja Ekadashi 2026: FAQs

When is Aja Ekadashi in 2026?
Aja Ekadashi 2026 is on Monday, 7 September. The Ekadashi tithi begins on 6 September at 07:30 PM and ends on 7 September at 05:05 PM, and it is the tithi running at sunrise on the 7th, so the fast is kept that day.

What is the Aja Ekadashi 2026 paran time?
The paran is on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, between 06:03 AM and 02:44 PM (Delhi). The window opens at sunrise and closes when the Dwadashi tithi ends.

What is Aja Ekadashi kept for?
Traditionally for release from the burden of past wrongdoing and for the return of something lost — position, work, health or peace of mind. The Harishchandra katha is the reason for that association.

Can I drink water during the Aja Ekadashi vrat?
Yes. A nirjala (waterless) fast is the strictest form and is optional. Most people keep a phalahar fast with water, fruit and milk. Health comes first — the shastra never asks anyone to harm their body for a vrat.

Whether this vrat helps you the way the katha promises depends on far more than the date: it depends on which dasha you are running and what your own chart is doing. Start with your free birth chart on Free Kundli, get the detailed 46-page Kundli report for ₹49, or talk to an astrologer about the right vrat and remedy for your chart. Planning a ceremony? The free Muhurat finder will rank the days for you.

More from this series: Putrada Ekadashi · Kamika Ekadashi · Devshayani Ekadashi.

Note: dates and timings on this page are computed from our own Vedic panchang for Delhi (28.61°N, 77.21°E) and follow the Purnimanta lunar month used in North India. They can differ by city and by calendar tradition. The paran window follows the standard rule — after sunrise, after Hari Vasara, before Dwadashi ends. Please confirm with your family’s panchang or a learned pandit before observing the vrat.