Saphalā Ekādaśī, Dhanur-māsa begins

* — Pāraṇam (completing the fast by taking water and food) is to be performed during standard period of time: after sunrise and before the first fifth of the daylight ends. Pāraṇam time could be calculated with “Vaiṣṇavaṁ Pañchāṅgam” software.

< — Pāraṇam must be done before the time specified (in 24-hour format)

> — Pāraṇam must be done after the time specified (in 24-hour format)

HV > — The last quater of Ekādaśī-tithi (Hari-vāsara) starts from the time specified (in 24-hour format). If the starting time is after the midnight, the following date is mentioned with the time. The last quater of Ekādaśī-tithi is considered to be Hari-vāsara and should be strictly observed with Ekādaśī vows even when the observation of Ekādaśī fast follows the next day.

Dhanur-māsa

The solar month during which Sūrya resides in Dhanu (Sagittarius) is called Dhanur-māsa or Ćāpa-māsa. Dhanur-māsa is unsuitable for upanāyana, house-warming, weddings or other undertakings (hence its another name — Śunya-māsa, or “void, futile month”), but a special worship of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa in this time is enjoined by śāstra.

During Dhanur-māsa all morning worship of Viṣṇu must be completed till the sunrise, preferrably while stars are still seen in the sky. Bhagavān's nāmas (such as Viṣṇu-sahasra-nāma-stotra) and Lakṣmī's names (like those given below) are chanted as Bhagavān's adoration. In uṣaḥ-kāla (from the moment of fading of stars till the rise of Sūrya by half) mudgānna is cooked and offered to Viṣṇu and Devas, and in the morning it is given to worthy men, the needy, and eaten by the worshippers themselves.

श्रीभद्रलक्ष्मीस्तोत्रम्

श्रीपद्माकमलामुकुन्दमहिषीलक्ष्मीत्रिलोकेश्वरी माक्षीराब्धिसुतारविन्दजननीविद्यासरोजात्मिका । सर्वाभीष्टफलप्रदेति सततं नामानि ये द्वादश प्रातः शुद्धतरा पठन्ति सततं सर्वान् लभन्ते शुभान् ।।

Śrī-bhadra-lakṣṁī-stotram

śrī padmā kamalā mukundamahiṣī lakṣmī trilokeśvarī
mā kṣīrābdhisutāravindajananī vidyā sarojātmikā •
sarvābhīṣṭaphalapradeti satataṁ nāmāni ye dvādaśa
prātaḥ śuddhatarā paṭhanti satataṁ sarvān labhante śubhān ••

“Śrī, Padmā, Kamalā, Mukundamahiṣī, Lakṣmī, Trilokeśvarī, Mā, Kṣīrābdhisutā, Aravindajananī, Vidyā, Sarojātmikā, Sarvābhīṣṭaphalapradā: those who every morning chant these twelve names in the state of utter cleanliness, constantly get all possible good.”

Mudgānna

Mudgānna is a dish made of mung-dāl and rice (or other cereal) cooked together. Mung beans can be cooked both with or without skins (green or yellow respectively). The best ratio of rice (or other cereal) to dāl is (according to śāstra) 1 to 1. 2 to 1 is considered average, 4 to 1 — bad. Seasoning mudgānna with ghṛta (clarified butter, ghee), ginger, guḍ (jaggery) and dadhi (yoghurt) is encouraged. In case mung-dāl is too expensive or unavailable it is not forbidden to use other pulses. It is necessary to cook and offer mudgānna before the sunrise, but eat it only after the sunrise. The worship of Śrī-Viṣṇu with mudgānna is enjoined by śāstra, and not just a local tradition. Feeding brāhmaṇas and other worthy people and/or the needy jīvas is an essential component of Dhanur-māsa's vows. On Ekādaśī mudgānna is not cooked.

Dhanur-vyatīpāta-yoga and Dhanur-vaidhṛti-yoga

The days of vyatīpāta-yoga and vaidhṛti-yoga are of particular importance in Dhanur-māsa. Those who have no opportunity to perform the worship corresponding to Dhanur-māsa daily, must at least perform it on the days of these yogas. In Kṛṣṇa-maṭha on these days Mahāpūjā is performed before the rise of Sūrya, just like on Dvādaśī.

The followers of this almanac will be notified of the dates of both yogas this year in due time.

Kindly direct your inquiries upon fasts and vratas, as well as corrections, suggestions, infromation on time zone changes, and requests to include new places for calculation to ekaadashii@gmail.com.

Ekādaśī-vratas are calculated with “Vaiṣṇavaṁ Pañchāṅgam”, created by Āśutoṣa. You may support the development of this software through Github "Sponsor" button (look for the heart symbol).

Respectfully yours,
Nārasiṁha