Shravana Putrada Ekadashi 2026 falls on Sunday, August 23 — the fast begins at sunrise that day and is broken (parana) after sunrise the next morning, Monday, August 24. Putrada Ekadashi, literally "the giver of children," is observed twice each year (once in Pausha, once in Shravana) by couples seeking a child and by parents praying for the health, longevity and dharmic upbringing of the children they already have. This is the Shravana observance — the second of the year's two Putrada Ekadashis, and the one many households in Maharashtra, Gujarat, South India and among Vaishnava communities treat as equally or more significant than the winter observance.
What Is Putrada Ekadashi?
Putrada Ekadashi (पुत्रदा एकादशी) falls on the Shukla Paksha (waxing moon) Ekadashi of two months a year — Pausha, in December–January, and Shravana, in July–August. The Padma Purana records both observances in detail, dedicating the day to Lord Vishnu in his form as Narayana. Tradition holds that a couple observing both Putrada Ekadashis in the same calendar year multiplies the merit substantially, though either alone is considered a complete and valid vrat. North Indian households tend to give more weight to the Pausha observance; in Maharashtra, Gujarat, the South and among Vaishnava communities more broadly, the Shravana Putrada Ekadashi — also known as Pavitropana Ekadashi or Pavitra Ekadashi — carries equal or greater importance.
Shravana Putrada Ekadashi 2026: Key Dates
These timings are converted from Drik Panchang's tithi data to Indian Standard Time. Because the Ekadashi Tithi is active through sunrise on August 23 and does not end until the following dawn, this is the correct fasting date across panchang traditions — unlike some other 2026 observances, there is no regional day-shift dispute here.
Event
2026 Timing (IST)
Ekadashi Vrat (fasting day)
Sunday, August 23, 2026
Ekadashi Tithi begins
2:00 AM, August 23
Ekadashi Tithi ends
4:18 AM, August 24
Parana (breaking the fast)
Monday, August 24, after sunrise (avoid the Hari Vasara window)
Also known as
Pavitropana Ekadashi / Pavitra Ekadashi
See the full 2026 festival page for Shravana Putrada Ekadashi, with related Chaturmas observances.
The purpose of Putrada Ekadashi is squarely about progeny: childless couples pray for a child (traditionally phrased as a son, though contemporary observance extends the prayer to a child of any gender), parents of young children pray for their long life and good conduct, and families facing any threat to the continuity of the line observe the vrat for protection. In Hindu tradition, funeral rites and the ongoing shraddha offerings that bring a departed soul peace are performed by a son — the origin of the vrat's historical emphasis on sons specifically, even as modern practice has broadened its scope. Couples who observe the vrat consecutively for several years before conceiving are a recurring theme in devotional retellings; the fast is understood as a devotional practice that sits alongside — never in place of — medical care for fertility.
The Putrada Ekadashi Vrat Katha follows King Suketuman, a virtuous and prosperous ruler of Bhadravati whose one sorrow was that he and his queen, Shaibya, had no son. Unable to bear the weight of his childlessness, the king left his palace, set aside his royal robes, and wandered into the forest as a renunciate. After seven days without food, weak and near collapse, he came upon a gathering of sages performing a yajna in a forest clearing and asked for their grace. The sages told him: today is Putrada Ekadashi, the most sacred day of the year for those who seek a child — observe the vrat with us, worship Lord Narayana with full sincerity, and offer the merit of the fast at the feet of Lakshmi-Narayana. Suketuman, with no food and no possessions, kept the vrat that very day — fasting nirjala, chanting Vishnu's name through the night, and offering every fragment of merit to Lakshmi-Narayana. Within months his queen was pregnant, and in time she bore a son who would grow to succeed his father as a dharmic king of Bhadravati. The katha closes with the assurance that no childlessness is so settled that a sincerely observed Putrada Ekadashi cannot move Lord Narayana's grace.
Offer Gau Seva in the name of a child's wellbeing or a family's progeny line — a traditional companion practice to Ekadashi vrat.
Begin from Dashami evening (Aug 22). Eat a simple sattvic meal without grains late in the day, and set an intention to keep the Ekadashi fast from the next sunrise.
Wake before sunrise on Ekadashi (Aug 23) and bathe. Wear yellow, Vishnu's auspicious colour, if possible.
Take a clear sankalpa. State your intention silently — for a child, for the wellbeing of a child you already have, or for protection of the family line — and hold it through the day without speaking it aloud.
Set up a Vishnu or Narayana murti or image. Offer tulsi leaves, yellow flowers, akshat (unbroken rice), seasonal fruit and kheer, and light a ghee diya.
Recite the Putrada Ekadashi Vrat Katha aloud, followed by the Vishnu Sahasranama or 108 repetitions of Om Namo Narayanaya.
Maintain the fast through the day. Many devotees keep it nirjala (without water) for maximum intensity; others follow a milder phalahar (fruit-only) or ekadashi-permitted-foods fast — see below.
Stay awake through the night if possible, continuing japa and bhajan; tradition holds this intensifies the vrat's merit.
Break the fast (parana) on Dwadashi morning, August 24, after sunrise and outside the Hari Vasara window — see the Key Dates table above.
What Can You Eat During the Fast?
Ekadashi fasting allows several traditional levels of strictness. Jalahar means fasting on water alone — the form most devotees reserve for Nirjala Ekadashi, though it can be kept on any Ekadashi including this one. Ksheerbhoji permits milk and milk products. Phalahari restricts intake to good-quality fruit — mango, banana, grapes, almonds, pistachios — while avoiding leafy vegetables. Naktabhoji allows a single grain-free meal just before sunset. Across all these levels, foods generally considered acceptable on an Ekadashi day are sabudana (sago), singhara atta (water-chestnut flour), kuttu atta (buckwheat flour, though its status is debated by some scholars), boiled potatoes with sendha namak (rock salt), sweet potato and groundnuts — with grains, lentils, onion, garlic, meat and alcohol avoided entirely until parana the next morning.
Check your local sunrise, tithi and Ekadashi timing for any date with Daanyam's free Panchang.
Pausha vs. Shravana Putrada Ekadashi: What's the Difference?
Both observances share the same name, purpose and vidhi — the difference is seasonal and regional emphasis rather than substance. Pausha Putrada Ekadashi, in December or January, coincides with Vaikuntha Ekadashi in South Indian and Vaishnava tradition, so many devotees observing it combine both intentions — children, and the opening of Vaikuntha's gates — in a single fast. Shravana Putrada Ekadashi carries no such overlap; it stands on its own, falling in the middle of Chaturmas, the four-month period when Lord Vishnu is considered to be in yogic sleep and when vrat and daan (charitable giving) are considered especially fruitful. Couples who observe only one Putrada Ekadashi in a year lose nothing by skipping the other — each is independently a complete vrat — but tradition recommends both where possible for the fullest merit.
ॐ नमो नारायणाय — Om Namo Narayanaya — Salutations to Lord Narayana.
— Recited through the Putrada Ekadashi vrat, traditionally 108 times with a tulsi mala
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Putrada Ekadashi vrat help with infertility?
The katha of King Suketuman speaks to couples in deep and prolonged childlessness, and many devotees report observing the vrat consecutively for several years before conceiving. The vrat is a devotional practice, not a medical intervention — couples facing infertility are encouraged to pursue medical evaluation and treatment alongside, not instead of, the fast.
Does Putrada Ekadashi only grant sons, or can it bless daughters too?
The name putrada literally means "giver of a son," reflecting the historical Hindu emphasis on sons performing funeral rites and shraddha. Contemporary observance has broadened considerably: most devotees today keep the vrat with a sankalpa for a child of any gender, and popular retellings of the katha are understood to apply equally.
Should women observe the vrat during their monthly cycle?
Traditional practice asks women to pause the fast during menstruation and make up the observance the following month if possible. The husband may continue the vrat on behalf of the family even when the wife pauses, since the sankalpa is understood as a shared household intention.
What if this is the only Putrada Ekadashi I can observe this year?
That is entirely sufficient. Each Putrada Ekadashi — Pausha and Shravana — is a complete and independently valid vrat; observing both simply compounds the merit tradition describes. There is no requirement to have kept the Pausha fast earlier in the year for the Shravana observance to count.
If Putrada Ekadashi's prayer has already been answered, mark your newborn's arrival with a formal Vedic birth chart — nakshatra, rashi, dasha and naming letter, generated from the exact birth time.