Kamika Ekadashi 2026: The First Fast of Shravan

Kamika Ekadashi 2026 falls on Sunday, 9 August, the first Ekadashi (the eleventh lunar day) of the Shravan month in the Purnimanta reckoning that most of North India follows. It is one of twenty-four Ekadashis in a normal year, each dedicated to Vishnu, and it opens the run of fasts that sit inside Chaturmas (the four sacred months when, in the tradition, Vishnu is said to rest). Kamika Ekadashi is remembered as a vrat (religious vow or fast) that is kept to clear wrongdoing and to steady the mind for the devotional season ahead.

The tithi (lunar day) does not line up neatly with the clock, which is why the observed day and the fast timing need to be read carefully. For 2026 the Ekadashi tithi begins on 8 August in the afternoon and ends on 9 August late in the morning; the fast is observed on 9 August, and the parana (the ritual breaking of the fast) is done the next morning, 10 August, within a short prescribed window after sunrise.

Why Ekadashi sits at the centre of Vaishnava practice

Ekadashi recurs twice each lunar month, once in the waxing fortnight (shukla paksha) and once in the waning (krishna paksha). Kamika Ekadashi is the krishna paksha Ekadashi of Shravan. The day is built around fasting, wakefulness and remembrance of Vishnu rather than around a temple procession, which makes it quieter than the big calendar festivals but no less important to those who keep it.

The underlying logic is physiological as much as devotional. The eleventh day is treated as a natural point to lighten the body and the routine, and the fast ranges from a complete abstention from grain to a simple fruit-and-water diet, depending on capacity and custom. None of this is a medical prescription; anyone with a health condition should treat fasting with ordinary care.

The 2026 timing in plain terms

• Fast day: Sunday, 9 August 2026.
• Tithi: the Ekadashi tithi opens on the afternoon of 8 August and closes on the morning of 9 August.
• Parana: the fast is broken on the morning of 10 August, after sunrise and before the tithi that follows lapses.

Because the parana window is short, many households note it in advance rather than relying on memory. A daily panchang makes this simple: the daily panchang calendar lists the tithi, nakshatra and the sunrise on which the parana depends for your own city, so the timing is local rather than generic.

How the day is kept

The evening before

Observant families eat a light, grain-free meal on the night of 8 August and begin the fast at dawn. The intention (sankalpa) is spoken simply: to keep the vrat and to remember Vishnu.

The Ekadashi itself

The day is spent in restraint, worship and, classically, wakefulness through part of the night. Tulsi (holy basil) leaves, a lamp and the recitation of Vishnu's names are the common elements. Charity to those in need is considered part of the observance rather than an add-on.

Breaking the fast

The parana is not optional timing trivia; the tradition is quite specific that the fast should be broken within the correct morning window on 10 August, neither too early nor after it closes.

Kamika Ekadashi inside Chaturmas

What gives this particular Ekadashi its weight is its place in the calendar. Chaturmas began with Devshayani Ekadashi in the previous month, and the Shravan fasts fall squarely inside this devotional stretch when weddings and several new ventures are traditionally paused. Kamika is, in that sense, the first of the season's disciplines rather than a standalone day.

If you want to see how the Ekadashi sits alongside the rest of Shravan, including the Shivratri and the full-moon festivals that follow, the same panchang calendar lays the month out day by day. And if you are choosing an auspicious time for a personal observance or a small ceremony during this period, the electional muhurat finder can identify clean windows that respect the Chaturmas cautions.

A grounded way to think about it

Ekadashi is best understood as a rhythm rather than a transaction. It is a recurring reset that the calendar offers twice a month, and Kamika Ekadashi is simply the first one dressed in the mood of Shravan. Keep it lightly if you are new to it, keep it fully if it is your practice, and let the parana timing be the one detail you do not improvise. For a fuller sense of how the Shravan month interacts with your own chart and dasha, cast a free Vedic birth chart and read the month against it.