Ekadashi is the eleventh day of the fortnight after a new moon or a full moon, and is considered auspicious for the worship of Lord Vishnu. Ashadha Shukla Paksha Ekadashi is known as Devshayani Ekadashi. Lord Vishnu goes to sleep on this day and wakes up after four months on Prabodhini Ekadashi.Here is Some Infromation about Ashadi Ekadashi Date year 2016 to 2021,Story,Method of observing, Significance and mant more.
Ashadi Ekadashi Date Year 2016 to 2021
Ashadi Ekadashi Date of Year 2016: July 15 Friday
Ashadi Ekadashi Date of Year 2017: July 4 Tuesday
Ashadi Ekadashi Date of Year 2018: July 23 Monay
Ashadi Ekadashi Date of Year 2019: July 12 Friday
Ashadi Ekadashi Date of Year 2020: July 1 Wednesday
Ashadi Ekadashi Date of Year 2021: July 20 Tuesday
About Ashadi Ekadashi
Ashadi Ekadashi is known as Devshayani Ekadashi.According to Gujarati calendar Ashadi Ekadshi observed during the Shukla Paksha of Ashada month day of eleven and Englishmonth Jun-July.Pandarpur Yatra culminates on this day and is of great importance in Maharashtra.People
consider the two eleventh days, "Ekadashi", of every month to be of
special importance. But the eleventh day (bright) of Ashadh is known as
the great Ekadashi or Mahaekadashi. This Mahaekadashi is also known as
Shayani Ekadashi, because on this day Vishnu falls asleep to wake up
four months later on Prabodhini Ekadashi in the Kartik month. This
period is known as Chaturmas and coincides with the rainy season.
Ashadhi
Ekadashi is the day of fast and on this day people go walking in huge
processions to Pandharpur singing the Abhangas (chanting hymns) of Saint
Tukaram and Saint Dnyaneshwar to see their God Vitthal. The yatra
starts in Allandi and ends on Guru Poornima day at Pandharpur.
Ashadhi Ekadashi Story
Some
people consider the two eleventh days, "ekadashi", of every month to be
of special importance. But the eleventh day (bright) of Ashadh is known
as the great ekadashi or Mahaekadashi. It is a day of fast.
This
is the day of the huge "yatra" or pilgrimages to the god Vithoba of
Pandharpur, a town in south Maharashtra, situated on the banks of the
Bhima River, a tributary of the Krishna River.
This
Mahaekadashi is also known as Shayani Ekadashi, because on this day
Vishnu falls asleep to wake up four months later on Prabodhini Ekadashi
in the Kartik month. This period is known as Chaturmas and coincides
with the rainy season.
Method of observing Ashadhi Ekadashi
If
it is not possible to observe the eleventh day of each fortnight of the
Hindu calendar, one can at least observe the eleventh day of the bright
fortnight. Worship: On both the ekadashi of Ashadh, Lord Vishnu is
worshipped as Shridhar (one of the Names of Lord Vishnu). A lamp of
clarified butter (ghee) is kept lit throughout the night of an Ashadhi
ekadashi.
Intake: On any ekadashi, one's intake should
be kept limited to only water, and a mixture of dried ginger (suntha)
and sugar. However, if not possible to do so, one can eat foods allowed
during Hindu fasts (upavas). These foods, being sattvik, do not reduce
one's sattva component, detracting from focus on God (the very aim of a
fast - upavas - is to be close to God), unlike rajasik-tamasik foods do.
A fast observed on an ekadashi is ended the following day.
The
pilgrimage (vari) to the town of Pandharpur in Maharashtra, India: The
vowed religious observance of going on a pilgrimage to Pandharpur, the
seat of Lord Vitthal, sacred especially to devotees from the Varkari
sect, is commenced from the ekadashi of the bright fortnight of the
month of Ashadh. The Varkari sect is the main sect among the Hindu
Vaishnava sects that worship Lord Vishnu. The devotees from this sect
undertake this pilgrimage annually or bi-annually, depending upon the
type of initiation they have received. Since this pilgrimage is carried
out on foot it is considered as physical penance, purifying (mainly) the
physical body.
Significance and meaning of Ekadashi
Ekadashi
is considered as the date (tithi) of Lord Vishnu. Hence, it is also
referred to as Haridini (Hari's, that is, Lord Vishnu's day).
Unlike
other vowed religious observances, an ekadashi need not be observed
with a resolve (sankalpa) and ritual. It is the basic among all vowed
religious observances and rituals. The proportion of sattva, raja, tama
components in every organism varies according to time/season (kal). On
the eleventh day of each Hindu lunar fortnights, the sattva component is
maximum in all living beings. Hence, if one does spiritual practice on
an ekadashi, one benefits to a greater extent.
