9

Nirjalaa Ekadashi is the one Ekadashi in which people does fasts without even drinking water for whole day and night. But if one wants to do this kind of fast on every Ekadashi, will it be fine? Is eating something in Ekadashi fast is mandatory like many other fasts?

Vishvam
  • 3,667
  • 5
  • 23
  • 43
  • Yes it will be fine and great if u can manage to do it on all the ekadashi days.... but what is the meaning of the last line? – Rickross Apr 25 '18 at 17:24
  • @rickross In some fasts eating is mandatory. For example in Lord Hanuman's fast we can't spend day without eating. We have to eat one time a day. I was asking whether same rule apply on Ekadashi fast too. – Vishvam Apr 25 '18 at 18:45
  • @Rishabh, there is no ekadashi which mandates eating. quite the opposite. there are varying degrees of upavaas - first is nirjal (not even water). then water. then milk (obtained properly, not store bought). then fruits & nuts. then dosa/upma/ragi etc. But atleast avoid eating rice. – ram Apr 25 '18 at 21:43
  • @Ram As you said, Water, milk and fruits we shud eat. But my question is if one wants to avoid even your suggested meal then? I mean If I want to avoid even milk and fruits, then it will be fine. The thing is I want to do all Ekadashi fasts without even taking one drop of water. I don't want to let anything pass out from my mouth except air. Will it be fine If I will do fasts like this? – Vishvam Apr 26 '18 at 04:20
  • @rickross As got confused with Ekadashi days by hearing different things from different people. Ekadashi is today till 9:20am. So as per my current understanding, Ekadashi fast day is that day in which Sun rises in Ekadashi timming. So Sun rises in Ekadashi time is today (till 9:20). So today is Ekadashi's fast day. Not yesterday, Bcoz Ekadashi started yesterday at 11:00am and Sun already rised up till then, so yesterday can't be Ekadashi's vrat day. It is today. Am I correct? – Vishvam Apr 26 '18 at 04:25
  • @Rishabh Oh ... no here not eating is mandatory.. if one can't do that then he can consume fruits and milk.. taking grains are not allowed.. and of course salt breaks a fast.. – Rickross Apr 26 '18 at 05:36
  • Instead of calculating urself like that u should simply follow ur local panchang.. if u don't have that book then follow drikpanchang.com and check the ekadashi dates and parana times for ur place. @Rishabh – Rickross Apr 26 '18 at 05:37
  • @rickross "calculating urself, check the ekadashi dates and parana times for ur place" This is what I did. The time 9:20 that I told you is correct time. I was asking if as per this time fast day is today or yesterday. But later I seen this post which is targeting on my query. This is exactly what I was asking in my last comment which has been asked in mentioned post. And thanks a lot for your other given imformation Jai Shree Hari :) – Vishvam Apr 26 '18 at 07:16
  • 1
    Simply check the dates here. No need to calculate on ur own. Simply put ur city name in the space. @Rishabh – Rickross Apr 26 '18 at 07:36
  • 1
    @Rishabh - i don't think you understood me. i never said we SHOULD eat milk and fruits. i said 'first' is nirjal - meaning, ideally, don't even drink water. If that is not possible, then drink water only. If drinking water only is not possible, then satvik milk. If milk alone is not possible, then fruits/nuts etc. It's various degrees of upavaas depending on your strength. – ram Apr 29 '18 at 01:20
  • @ram ah this comment of your is more clear to me. It all makes sense now. Thanks for the info :) Besides this well suits as an answer too. You can write answer on behalf of this info. – Vishvam Apr 29 '18 at 17:05

1 Answers1

4

Yes.
In fact, Nirjal is the mandatory mentioned method. Nobody says we HAVE to eat. Anything else is less than ideal, depending on our will-power and physical strength.

Ekadashi fast in decreasing order of ideal-ness:

uttam:

  1. nirjal - not even water. but you can do vayu-bhojanam i.e. breathe air :) (actually there is tapas where you don't even breathe)

  2. jal - only drink water, nothing else. not too much either, maybe one mouthful 3 times during the day.

madhyam (natural foods):

  1. doodh - milk/curd etc. There is many restrictions on which type of milk is satvik and sin-free. milk you buy from the store is not allowed - because it is taken from cow without feeding its calf, or pregnant cow, or cow in heat, or first 10 days after calf is born. or it is not even cow-milk, maybe mixed with buffalo etc.

  2. fruits/nuts - banana,orange,almonds,cashews,honey,sugar etc. - again, take in moderation. maybe 500 calories. usual food intake is around 1500-2000 calories.

adham (involves fire + salt = cooking & taste): broken rice/wheat upma, dosa, idli etc.

NO FAST :

eating usual rice/chappati, eating outside in restaurant, eating lot so that you don't feel hungry

In addition, there are rules for previous day and next day food, and sleep:

  1. Dashami day - eat only during lunch time, no food (or light milk/fruits) at night. so that stomach is empty when ekadashi day starts

  2. wake up before sunrise, clean teeth & tongue thoroughly, bathe, sandhya-vandanam etc.

  3. during day - avoid sleeping, exercise, going out, watching tv, talking lot. definitely no marital union.

  4. listen to sankirtan, pravachanam, upanyasam. chant veda, vishnu-sahasranama, stotra. do japa.

  5. avoid sleeping throughout night

  6. dvadashi day - after bathing, sandhya etc. - break the fast with rice before ~8.30am. there is special diet for this day because of stomach acids from fasting all day. no tamarind or chili. amla-curd, buttermilk-kozhmabu, and lemon-rasam, agathi spinach are usually served. No banana related items. also, only eating once and light milk/fruits at night. and no sleeping during day time.

More exact detailed procedures can be found on other sites, or ask elders. Doing perfect ekadashi fast even once during whole life-time may not be possible.

You can clearly feel the effects of the light satvik foods on our mood and mental clarity. Regular days we would feel sleepy in afternoon, or irritable if someone annoys us. We can realize that we are not slaves to stomach and tongue.

Ambarisha chakravarthi did this every time for 12 years, and Sudarshana chakra defended him from Durvasa rishi shaapam, who ran to Shiva, Brahma and finally Vishnu, even He couldn't protect him from His own chakra, only Ambarisha himself pardoned Durvasa.

ram
  • 8,076
  • 2
  • 30
  • 57
  • You have said one should break fast on dvadashi by 8:30 am. But I have read some where that one should nit break fast on the first quarter of Dvadashi as it's called Hari vasara. Why is 8:30 fixed to break the fast? And why is Banana not allowed? As it's a satvik fruit –  Sep 19 '21 at 08:10
  • hari vasar might occur on some days, not everyday. on those days have to wait till 11.30 or something – ram Sep 19 '21 at 16:18
  • Why no banana related items?? Banana is main fruit. – Profile name Jun 07 '22 at 16:50
  • @ShyamMukundan - i don't know why. both banana fruit and banana vegetable are not used for cooking/eating on dvadashi in traditional ashrams. similarly, no tamarind either, only lemon for sourness, because tamarind is acidic and can cause pain after fasting for long. – ram Jun 09 '22 at 15:07