Indira Ekadashi

In Sanatan Dharma, the observance of Ekadashi holds great significance, and among these, Indira Ekadashi is considered especially auspicious for the salvation of ancestors and the attainment of liberation. This Ekadashi is observed on the eleventh day (Ekadashi) of the Krishna Paksha (waning phase of the moon) in the month of Ashwin. Observing fast and engaging in service on this day grants the ancestors a place in heaven and liberates the devotee from all sins.

By observing the fast of Indira Ekadashi, one not only earns spiritual merit for oneself but also uplifts one’s ancestors to higher realms through dedicated acts of virtue performed for them. As this Ekadashi falls during the Shraddha Paksha, its significance increases manifold.

The Legend and Importance of Indira Ekadashi

According to the Padma Purana, during the Satya Yuga, King Indrasena of Mahishmati city observed the Indira Ekadashi fast and helped his ancestors attain heaven. Once, the king saw his father suffering in Yamaloka (the realm of the dead). Guided by Sage Narada, he observed the Indira Ekadashi fast, by the virtue of which his father ascended to heaven, and King Indrasena himself also became eligible for liberation.

This fast brings peace to the souls of one’s ancestors and eradicates poverty, diseases, crises, and sins from the devotee’s life.

The Importance of Charity and Service

Indira Ekadashi is not only a day of fasting and abstinence but also a special day for charity, service, and devotion. Offering water, food, clothes, and donations on this day grants immense peace and merit to the giver.

In the Sanatan tradition, charity is considered extremely significant. Goswami Tulsidas Ji wrote in the Ramcharitmanas:

Pragat chari pad dharma ke, Kali mahun ek pradhan.
Jen ken bidhi dinh dān, karai kalyān.

(The four pillars of Dharma—truth, compassion, austerity, and charity—are well known, but in Kali Yuga, charity is the principal pillar. In any way it is given, charity always brings welfare.)

Charity on Indira Ekadashi

On this auspicious day, donating food, clothes, medicines, and educational support to the helpless, differently-abled, needy, and elderly is considered especially fruitful. You can become a part of Narayan Seva Sansthan’s initiative to provide meals to differently-abled children and earn this divine merit for the sake of your ancestors.