Dev Uthani Ekadashi & Tulsi Vivah 2026: Date and Vidhi

Dev Uthani Ekadashi, also called Prabodhini Ekadashi or Devuthani Gyaras, falls in the bright half of Kartik. In 2026 the Ekadashi tithi runs from 7:17 am on Friday, 20 November to 6:31 am on Saturday, 21 November (New Delhi).

This year the tithi does not touch sunrise on either day, which is why calendars differ:

• Many calendars, including the date on our Dev Uthani Ekadashi 2026 page, list the fast on Friday, 20 November.
• Some Vaishnava calendars list it on Saturday, 21 November.

Both follow established rules for a tithi that falls between two sunrises. Keep the fast on the day your family, sampradaya or local temple follows. The parana (breaking of the fast) time depends on which day you fast and on your city, so check it in a local panchang or on our daily panchang.

Tulsi Vivah follows closely. The Dwadashi tithi runs from 6:32 am on Saturday, 21 November to 4:56 am on Sunday, 22 November. Many families hold Tulsi Vivah on 21 November, while others do it on the evening of Ekadashi itself.

Tradition holds that Lord Vishnu goes into yoga-nidra, a divine sleep, on Devshayani Ekadashi in Ashadha and awakens four months later on Prabodhini Ekadashi in Kartik. These four months are called Chaturmas. During Chaturmas many families postpone weddings and similar ceremonies, and many devotees keep extra vows.

Dev Uthani Ekadashi marks the end of that period. Families welcome the Lord's awakening with puja, lamps and songs, and the season for weddings, griha pravesh and other ceremonies is traditionally considered open again. If you are planning a wedding or house-warming this winter, our muhurat finder lists dates.

The day is also closely tied to Tulsi. In Vaishnava tradition the tulsi plant is revered as Vrinda Devi and is married to Vishnu in the form of a shaligram, which is why Tulsi Vivah is celebrated at this time. Many North Indian homes treat Tulsi Vivah as the first wedding of the season.

Ekadashi fasts are kept in several ways, and tradition respects all of them:

• Nirjala: no food or water from sunrise until parana. Only for those in good health.
• Phalahar: fruit, milk, curd, nuts, and dishes of singhara or kuttu flour, sabudana and potatoes with sendha namak.
• One simple satvik meal without grains.

Rice and other grains, lentils, onion and garlic are traditionally avoided on Ekadashi, and in many homes even family members who are not fasting avoid them. Many devotees keep a jagran for part of the night, singing bhajans and reading about Vishnu.

Parana is done the next day after sunrise, within the Dwadashi tithi, traditionally avoiding the first quarter of Dwadashi, which is called Hari Vasara. Because the fast day itself varies this year, look up the exact parana window for your city in a local panchang rather than relying on a national list.

A plain safety note. If you are pregnant, diabetic, elderly, on medication or unwell, speak to your doctor before a nirjala or strict fast. Tradition itself allows phalahar or a single meal for people who need it, and a lighter fast kept with devotion is still the same vrat.

In many North Indian homes the awakening puja is done in the evening. As families commonly perform it:

1. Clean the courtyard, verandah or puja space. Many families draw the feet of Vishnu or a chowk with rice paste or geru.
2. Place an image of Vishnu or Krishna, or a shaligram, on a clean chowki.
3. Build a small canopy of sugarcane stalks if your family does, and arrange seasonal produce around it: singhara (water chestnut), sweet potato, ber, guava and pieces of sugarcane.
4. Light ghee lamps at the puja place and at the entrance of the home.
5. Take sankalp, then offer tulsi leaves, yellow flowers, sandalwood, akshat and fruit.
6. Ring a bell or blow a conch, and sing the traditional songs asking the Lord to rise. Many families chant the mantra Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.
7. Perform the aarti, for example Om Jai Jagdish Hare, and distribute prasad.

Regional songs and customs differ widely; follow what your elders do.

Tulsi Vivah is the ceremonial marriage of the tulsi plant with Vishnu, usually in the form of a shaligram. Families hold it on different days:

• On the evening of Dev Uthani Ekadashi itself
• On Dwadashi, which in 2026 is Saturday, 21 November (6:32 am on 21 November to 4:56 am on 22 November in Delhi)
• In some communities, on any convenient day between Ekadashi and Kartik Purnima (Tuesday, 24 November 2026)

The story behind it, as the Puranas tell it, is of Vrinda, a devoted wife whose devotion Vishnu honours by accepting her as Tulsi. Different texts tell the story differently, and most families simply celebrate the tulsi plant that has stood in their courtyard all year.

In many homes Tulsi Vivah is performed like a real wedding, with a mandap, haldi, pheras and songs. Some families celebrate with great ceremony and invite neighbours; others keep it small on a balcony. Both are fully within tradition.

Samagri for a home Tulsi Vivah:

• The tulsi plant in a clean pot, placed on a decorated chowki or in the courtyard
• A shaligram, or an image of Vishnu or Krishna, as the groom
• Sugarcane stalks for a small mandap
• A red chunri, bangles, bindi, sindoor and a small mirror for Tulsi's shringar
• Haldi, roli, akshat, sandalwood and mauli
• Flowers, a garland for each, incense and a ghee lamp
• Seasonal fruit, singhara, sweet potato and a sweet for bhog

As families commonly perform it:

1. Build the sugarcane mandap over the tulsi pot and decorate it with flowers.
2. Dress Tulsi in the red chunri and offer the shringar items.
3. Place the shaligram or Vishnu image beside the plant on a small seat.
4. Take sankalp and worship Ganesh, then offer haldi, roli, akshat and flowers to both.
5. Tie mauli between the two, or around the mandap, as a symbol of the marriage bond.
6. For the pheras, carry the shaligram around the tulsi plant seven times, or walk around the mandap holding it, as your family does.
7. Offer bhog, sing the Tulsi Mata Aarti and a Vishnu aarti, and distribute prasad.

Many families sing wedding songs throughout. Keep the lamp safely away from the sugarcane and the chunri.

If you cannot hold the puja at home this year, you can have a Krishna Archana performed in your name at Sree Vinayak Mandir in Delhi on Dev Uthani Ekadashi or Dwadashi. The pandit chants the 108 names of Lord Krishna and offers tulsi, butter and a peacock feather, and a photo of the completed archana is emailed to you, typically within 24 hours. The booking form asks for your name, gotra (optional), date of birth, your wish and the date you prefer. Because calendars differ on the Ekadashi date this year, choose the date your family follows.

The month of Kartik ends a few days later with Kartik Purnima and Dev Deepawali on Tuesday, 24 November 2026. Our Kartik Purnima guide covers Kartik snan, deepdaan and the Dev Deepawali evening in Varanasi.