Nirjala Ekadashi is the strictest of the Ekadashis, and it falls in the hottest days of the northern summer. Nirjala means without water, and the traditional vrat asks for no food or water through the day. It is also called Bhimseni Ekadashi or Pandava Ekadashi, after Bhima, the second Pandava. In the heat of early summer, a fast without water is demanding, and the day is also one of giving water.
Nirjala Ekadashi falls in the Shukla paksha, the waxing fortnight, of Jyeshtha. Both the amanta and the purnimanta reckoning give the bright half the same month name, so Nirjala Ekadashi has one label wherever you live.
The katha
Stories of the kind told for Nirjala Ekadashi are attributed by the tradition to the Padma Purana and the Bhavishyottara Purana, usually as a talk between Krishna and Yudhishthira, though the speakers vary by telling. The story is a warm one about Bhima, the strongest of the Pandavas, and his appetite.
The Pandavas, Draupadi and their family kept the Ekadashi vrat twice every month, but Bhima could not. He was a great eater, known as Vrikodara, the wolf-bellied, and a fast of any kind was hard for him. He felt uneasy at being unable to join the family, and went to the sage Vyasa for advice.
Vyasa listened, and told him that if he could not keep all the Ekadashis he should keep one, the Ekadashi of the bright half of Jyeshtha, in full: without food and without water. He would then gain, by the tradition’s reckoning, the merit of all the others. Bhima accepted, kept the day with great effort and broke the fast on the next morning.
The story is told with affection. It shows that the tradition makes room for those who cannot keep a rigorous schedule, and gives one demanding day in place of many easier ones. It does not require anyone to harm their health.
How the fast is kept
The strict form of the vrat is to take nothing, not even water, from sunrise to the next sunrise, spending the day in prayer. Many families keep a version of it, such as taking only water or fruit juice, or fasting from grain. All of these are accepted, and the day is not to be kept at the cost of health.
Giving water is the other great theme. In the heat, people set out pots of drinking water, give sherbet or buttermilk at roadside stalls, offer earthen water pots, fans and umbrellas, and feed the hungry. Many people make this the centre of the day.
A fast without water in the summer heat can be dangerous for anyone with kidney or heart conditions, diabetes, low blood pressure, for the elderly, for children and for anyone pregnant or nursing. If you fall in any of these groups, please do not keep the dry form of the vrat, and take water and light food as your doctor advises.
Two reckonings are in use for Nirjala Ekadashi. The Smarta one, used for the dates in the tables, takes the day when Ekadashi is running at sunrise; the Vaishnava one may move Nirjala Ekadashi to the next day if Dashami has crossed into the early morning. For the parana, look at the Timing column: it starts after sunrise, stays within Dwadashi and leaves out Hari Vasara. Keeping Nirjala Ekadashi well means keeping yourself well. Anyone who is pregnant, breastfeeding, elderly or unwell may eat lightly, take their medicine as prescribed and still observe the day in prayer, with a doctor’s advice on the rest.
Where it sits in the year
Before Nirjala Ekadashi comes Apara Ekadashi, or in an Adhika Jyeshtha year Parama Ekadashi. After it comes Yogini Ekadashi. To see the whole round, open the Ekadashi page. The Ekadashi vrat vidhi gives the order of worship for Nirjala Ekadashi, and the Ekadashi tithi page explains the tithi.