Shravana Putrada Ekadashi is the second of the two Putrada Ekadashis, the first being in Pausha. It is the bright-fortnight Ekadashi of Shravana, in the middle of the rains, and it is kept above all by couples who long for a child. In Pushtimarg and in parts of Gujarat it is known as Pavitra Ekadashi, with a distinct worship of Krishna.
Shravana Putrada Ekadashi falls in the Shukla paksha, the waxing fortnight, of Shravana. Because the bright half of a month is named alike in the amanta and purnimanta systems, north and south agree on the month of Shravana Putrada Ekadashi.
The katha
Stories of the kind told for Shravana Putrada 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 katha tells of a childless king, and of an old explanation.
King Mahijit of Mahishmati was a good ruler, loved by his people. He and his queen had no child, and in his sorrow he called his ministers and the elders of the city to ask what he could do. They went to the forest and found the sage Lomasha, who could see far into the past.
Lomasha told them that in a former life the king had been a merchant. Once, on a hot Ekadashi day, the merchant had come upon a cow drinking at a pond, and had driven her away to take the water himself, though she was thirsty. Because of this, and because he had fasted that day without intending to, he was reborn as a king, but without a child, said the sage.
Lomasha advised the king and the people to keep the Ekadashi of the bright half of Shravana and give the merit to the king. They did so. The tradition says that a son was born, and that the kingdom rejoiced. The story is also told as a quiet teaching on kindness to animals, and it is a reminder to give water to those who are thirsty.
How the fast is kept
The usual fast and worship is observed, and couples keep the vrat together with prayer for children. Because the day falls in the rains, a lamp and a tulsi plant are placed together before the image of Vishnu.
In Pushtimarg, the Pavitra Ekadashi is the day on which the devotees offer a sacred thread to Krishna, and the festival is observed in temples, with kirtan and a special offering. The day is also an occasion for kindness to animals, and many people leave out water for birds.
Reading the tables for Shravana Putrada Ekadashi: the date is the day on which Ekadashi is present at local sunrise, as Smarta practice has it. Some Vaishnava calendars would move Shravana Putrada Ekadashi by a day, and you should follow yours if so. The parana follows at dawn on the next day, between sunrise and the close of Dwadashi, never during the first quarter of Dwadashi, called Hari Vasara. Nobody needs to harm their health for Shravana Putrada Ekadashi. If a full fast is not wise for you, a simple meal of fruit and milk or a quiet day of prayer keeps the spirit of it, and your doctor should guide you on medicine and diet.
Where it sits in the year
In the round of the year, Kamika Ekadashi comes before Shravana Putrada Ekadashi and Aja Ekadashi after it. The Ekadashi page lists all the named Ekadashis. For Shravana Putrada Ekadashi the practical steps are in the Ekadashi vrat vidhi, and the meaning of the tithi is on the Ekadashi tithi page.