Kamika Ekadashi – August 2026

Pranaams, Namaste, Vanakkum, Hare Krsna, Jai Shree Krsna, Jai Shree Raam.

All glories to our eternal Parents Shree Shree Radha Krsna.
All glories to the most merciful Shree Shree Lakshmi Nrsimhadeva.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada, and the other wonderful and inspiring gurus.
All glories to the wonderful servants of the Supreme Lord.

On 9th of August (Sunday) {Vaishnava} Kamika Ekadashi is observed. Please have your last grain meal on Saturday night. The times to break your fast with grains is on Monday morning, on 10th of August Parana Time (Break-fast):

• Durban: 06:34 AM to 08:45 AM
• Gauteng: 06:41 AM to 08:54 AM
• Cape Town: 07:31 AM to 09:39 AM

*** On 8th of August {SMARTHA} Kamika Ekadashi is observed.

Please refrain from eating grains and meat on this most auspicious day. (N.B. I have included what to eat and what not to eat and 16 different meals to have on Ekadashi at the end of this email).

The benefits of fasting on this day are endless. This Ekadashi bestows upon that devotee eradication of the greatest sins that he has committed and is awarded passage to the spiritual abode. One is granted freedom from obstacles in his spiritual progress and grants him the perfection of life. This day of fasting removes all sins eternally. This is the most meritorious day for destroying all kinds of sins.

Please note that this auspicious day is not only for Hindus to observe. This fast can be observed by anyone. There’s no catch here. One who is truly universal does not discriminate; rather he/she respects and embraces all cultures.

One very important point of note: Many perform different prayers, like for example nullifying the negative effects of the planets, and wonder why the prayer did not work – “What happened, I did the prayer as the priest said and yet I feel the same”. Well, what you are not told is that if you don’t follow the Ekadashi fast and perform the planetary fast then it is like bathing and then rubbing mud all over yourself again. So by fasting for a particular planet on a specific day you are removing the negative effects of that planet, but when Ekadashi comes and you have grains, then the obstacles come back since by eating grains on Ekadashi you are creating obstacles on your path and life. BUT by observing the Ekadashi fast you are removing all obstacles in your life.

The katha of Kamika Ekadashi – from Brahma Vaivarta Purana

The saintly king Yudhisthira Maharaj said, “Oh Supreme Lord, I would like to hear from You the glories of the Ekadashi that occurs during the dark fortnight (krishna paksha) of the month of Shravan (July – August). Oh Govinda, please be merciful to me and explain its glories. Oh Supreme Vasudeva, I offer my most humble obeisances unto You.” The Supreme Lord, Shree Krishna, replied, “Oh King, please listen attentively as I describe the auspicious influence of this Holy fast day, which removes all sins. Narada Muni once asked Lord Brahma about this same topic. ‘Oh regent of all beings,’ said Naradji, ‘Oh you who sit upon a water-born lotus throne, please tell me the name of that Ekadashi that occurs during the dark fortnight of the sacred month of Shravan. Please also tell me which Deity is to be worshipped on that Holy day, the process one must follow to observe it, and the merit it awards.’

“Lord Brahma replied, ‘My dear son Narada, for the benefit of all humanity I shall happily tell you everything you wish to know, for just hearing the glories of the Kamika Ekadashi bestows merit equal to that obtained by one who performs a horse sacrifice. Certainly, great merit is attained by one who worships, and who also meditates on the lotus feet of the four-armed Lord Gadadhara, who holds conch shell, disc, club and lotus in His hands and who is also known as Sridhar, Hari, Vishnu, Madhava, and Madhusudana. And the blessings achieved by such a person/devotee who worships Lord Vishnu exclusively are far greater than those achieved by one who takes a sacred bath in the Ganges at Kashi (Varanasi), in the forest of Naimisharanya, or at Pushkara, which is the only place on the planet where I am formally worshipped. But one who observes this Kamika Ekadashi and also worships Lord Shree Krishna achieves greater merit than one who has darshan of Lord Kedaranath in the Himalayas, or one who bathes at Kurukshetra during a solar eclipse, or one who donates the whole Earth in charity, including its forests and oceans, or one who bathes in the Kali Gandaki River (where the sacred Shaligram shilas are found) or the Godavari River on a full moon (purnima) day that falls on a Monday when Leo (Simha) and Jupiter (Guru) are conjoined (conjunct).

“Observing Kamika Ekadashi bestows the same merit as donating a milk cow and her auspicious calf, along with their feed. On this all-auspicious day, whosoever worships Lord Sri Sridhar-deva, Vishnu, is glorified by all the devas, Gandharvas, Pannagas, and Nagas. Those who are afraid of their past sins and completely immersed in sinful materialistic life should at least observe this best of Ekadashis according to their ability and thus attain liberation. This Ekadashi is the purest of all days and the most powerful for removing sins of the native. Oh Naradji, Lord Shri Hari Himself once said about this Ekadashi, “One who fasts on Kamika Ekadashi attains much more merit than one who studies all the spiritual literatures.” Anyone who fasts on this particular day and remains awake throughout the night (if it’s possible) will never experience the anger of Yamaraja, the king of death personified. It has been seen that whoever observes Kamika Ekadashi will not have to suffer future births, and in the past too, many Yogis of devotion who fasted on this day went to the spiritual world. One should therefore follow in their auspicious footsteps and strictly observe a fast on this most auspicious of Ekadashis.

“Whosoever worships Lord Shree Hari with Tulsi leaves is freed from all implication of sin. Indeed, he lives untouched by sin, as the lotus leaf, although in the water, is untouched by it. Whosoever offers Lord Shree Hari but a single leaf from the sacred Tulsi tree (occillium basilcum sanctum) attains as much merit as one who gives away in charity two hundred grams of gold and eight hundred grams of silver. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is more pleased by one who offers Him a single Tulsi leaf than by one who worships Him with pearls, rubies, topaz, diamonds, lapis lazuli, sapphires, gomeda stones, cat’s eye gems, and coral. One who offers Lord Keshava newly grown manjari buds from the Tulsi plant gets rid of all the sins he has committed during this or any other lifetime. Indeed, mere darshan of Tulsi on Kamika Ekadashi removes all sins, and merely touching her and praying to her removes all kinds of disease. One who waters Tulsi devi need never fear the Lord of death, Yamaraja. One who plants or transplants Tulsi on these days will eventually reside with Lord Shri Krishna in His own abode. To Srimati Tulsi Devi, who awards liberation in devotional service, one should therefore daily offer one’s full obeisances.

“Even Chitragupta, Yamaraja’s secretary, cannot calculate the merit obtained by one who offers Srimati Tulsi-devi a perpetually burning ghee lamp. So dear is this sacred Ekadashi to the Supreme Personality of Godhead that all the forefathers of one who offers a bright ghee lamp to Lord Shree Krishna on this day ascend to the heavenly planets and drink the celestial nectar there. Whoever offers ghee or sesame oil lamp to Shri Krishna on this day is freed from all his sins and enters the abode of Surya, the Sun god, with a body as bright as ten million lamps. This Ekadashi is so powerful that if one who is unable to fast simply follows the practices as mentioned herein, he is elevated to the heavenly planets, along with all their forefathers.

“Oh Maharaj Yudhisthira,” Lord Shree Krishna concluded, “…these were the words of Lord Brahma to his son Narada Muni concerning the incalculable glories of this Kamika Ekadashi, which removes all sins. This sacred day nullifies even the sin of killing a brahmana or the sin of killing an unborn child in the womb, and it promotes one to the spiritual world by making one supremely meritorious. One who kills the innocent, i.e., a Brahmin, a child in the womb, a pious and spotless woman, etc., and then later hears about the glories of Kamika Ekadashi will be relieved of the reaction to one’s sins. However, one should NOT think beforehand that one can kill a Brahmin or other innocent folk and then go unpunished simply by hearing of this Ekadashi. Such knowing commission of sin is an abomination. Whosoever hears these glories of the Kamika Ekadashi with faith becomes free of all sins and returns home, back to Godhead – Vishnu-Loka, Vaikuntha.”

Thus ends the narration of Kamika Ekadashi from the Brahma Vaivarta Purana.

Sometimes if you cannot fast due to circumstances then you can chant the names of all the Ekadashi and read the above true story and you will receive the same benefits. Suta Goswami said: There are twelve months in a year, and two Ekadashi’s in each month. Thus there are twenty-four Ekadashi’s in one full year, and in a leap year (like this year) there are two extra Ekadashi’s. O great sages, please listen attentively as I declare to you the names of these auspicious Ekadashi’s.

List of Auspicious Ekadashis

The two extra Ekadashis, which occur during leap year, are called Padminiee and Paramaa.

*** Please note the t is pronounced as follows: place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth and say t.
*** Please note the n is pronounced as follows: place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth and say n.

“O sages, one who hears about these Ekadashi’s will learn how to observe them properly. Each Ekadashi bestows particular benefits on the faithful observer. One who is physically unable to fast on Ekadashi may read the glories of each Ekadashi when it occurs and recite all the names of the Ekadashis; thus he will achieve the same goal as the person who observes the full Ekadashi vow.”

Ekadashi preparations

For a detailed what to eat or not and over 100 Ekadashi recipes please visit our website www.dipika.org.za and look under the sub-menu called EKADASHI – THE DAY OF LORD HARI.

Abstain from: grains (cereals, breads, wheat, flour, beans, rice, dhals, green beans, roti, coffee, etc) meat.
Do not cook with: Powdered hing, shop turmeric (you can use whole turmeric), shop masala and shop chilli powder.
You can cook with the following: Whole turmeric, clean salt, cinnamon sticks, clean oil, butter, ghee, ginger, chilli, curry leaves, maas (yogurt), cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, clean sugar, rooibos tea, spinah, dhania, thyme, peppers, ground pepper, mint, green bananas, fresh cream, sour cream, bay leaves, potatoes, tomatoes, peanuts, cabbage, pumpkin, butternut, gem squash, carrots, lettuce, all kinds of fruits, paneer.

RECIPES