Mokshada Ekadashiमोक्षदा एकादशी
Devoted to Lord Krishna and Lord Vishnu · Annually on Margashirsha Shukla Ekadashi (November-December)
Significance
Mokshada Ekadashi coincides with Gita Jayanti, the sacred day Lord Krishna delivered the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna at Kurukshetra. The name literally means giver of moksha, and devotees believe this vrat dissolves karmic bondage of ancestors across seven generations, granting them liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Who Observes
Devotees of Krishna, students of the Bhagavad Gita, those performing rituals for departed parents and ancestors, and spiritual aspirants seeking the highest goal of moksha.
Fasting Rules (Upvas Niyam)
- •Observe nirjala or phalahar fast based on physical capacity
- •Eat only once on Dashami with sattvic food before sunset
- •Avoid all grains, pulses, salt, and heavy foods throughout Ekadashi
- •Refrain from sleeping during the day and maintain mauna where possible
- •Abstain from negative speech, gossip, and harmful thoughts
- •Break the fast at sunrise on Dwadashi with prasad
Rituals (Puja Vidhi)
- Read or recite the entire Bhagavad Gita, especially chapters 12 and 15
- Worship Krishna with tulsi, yellow flowers, peacock feathers, and butter
- Light a ghee lamp and offer it before a Gita book on the altar
- Perform Vishnu Sahasranama chanting and Govinda namavali
- Donate Gita books, food, and clothes to brahmins and the needy
- Conduct shraddha and tarpan for ancestors with sesame and water
Prasad
Makhan-mishri, panjiri, tulsi charanamrit, kheer, and seasonal fruits
Benefits (Phal)
The vrat liberates ancestors trapped in lower lokas and grants them entry to higher celestial realms. Observers gain spiritual wisdom, detachment from material bondage, clarity of dharma, and progress toward self-realization. It bestows the merit of a thousand horse sacrifices, removes the deepest karmic samskaras, and opens the path to ultimate moksha as promised by Krishna in the Padma Purana.
Primary Mantra
Vrat Katha (Story Origin)
King Vaikhanasa of Champak Nagar dreamed his deceased father suffering in naraka, pleading for release. Distressed, the king consulted sage Parvata, who revealed that observing Mokshada Ekadashi with full devotion and dedicating its merit to his father would liberate him. The king fasted with his family, recited the Gita, and at dawn his father appeared in celestial form ascending to Vaikuntha, establishing this Ekadashi as the supreme liberator of ancestors across all yugas.
Book a pandit for Mokshada Ekadashi udyapan or katha
Concluding ceremony, havan, or full katha recitation at your home or remotely with video proof.