Nirjala Ekadashi
what is eaten, and how to hold it
निर्जला एकादशीNirjala Ekadashi
The Ekadashi of the waxing fortnight in the month of Jyeshtha, which falls in late May or June — the hottest part of the Indian year.
SOURCE·Published accounts of Nirjala Ekadashi as commonly observed·customs differ by family, region and sampradaya·REVIEWED JUL 2026
How long Nirjala Ekadashi runs
≈ 24hours
Approximate, as the dataset states it. The exact length turns on your date and where you are. Without water — the most demanding fast in the Hindu year. Nirjala means without water. The observance is kept without food and, in its full form, without water, from sunrise until the paran on the following day.
As the dataset states it: Roughly 24 hours, ending with paran on Dwadashi morning.
SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·Nirjala Ekadashi entry·REVIEWED JUL 2026
What Nirjala Ekadashi is
Nirjala Ekadashi is held to carry the merit of all the year's Ekadashis in a single day, and it is kept in its full form without water. It falls in Jyeshtha — May or June — which is to say in the peak of the Indian summer.
This site treats it separately from every other observance for one reason: a dry fast in 40°C heat is physiologically different from every other fast described here. That is not a reason to tell anyone not to keep it. It is a reason to be specific about who is at genuine risk, and about what the warning signs of heat illness look like.
Customs vary. A partial observance — with water, or with fruit — is widely accepted for those who cannot keep the full one, and in many families is what elders explicitly advise for children, the elderly, the unwell and pregnant women. What is appropriate for you is a question for your family's practice and your doctor, not for a website.
How this entry is drawn, and how the food is counted
- The observance is read from published accounts of Nirjala Ekadashi and written as commonly observed — never as required, never as correct. Where households differ, the entry says they differ.
- The arc above places the observed span between named stations of the day — sunrise, midday, sunset, moonrise — and never between times. Sehri, iftar, moonrise and sunset are local and religiously significant, and this site publishes none of them.
- The length is taken from the range the dataset itself states, as a range. Where the length turns on latitude and season, no duration is printed at all.
- Food energy is per the serving each item is really eaten in, from IFCT 2017 (ICMR–NIN) where the table has the food, and from a named alternative where it does not.
- Every food is reconciled against Atwater factors on each build, and a page that fails to reconcile does not ship.
serving kcal = per-100 g kcal × (serving g ÷ 100) energy check = 4·protein + 4·carbohydrate + 9·fat (±15%, ±20% high-fibre) day shape = observed span, station → station (no clock times, ever)
What is customarily eaten, and what is set aside
Described as commonly observed. Your own family's practice is the one that applies.
Commonly eaten
- Nothing during the fast in its full form
- The paran on Dwadashi is customarily broken gently — water first, then fruit, then a light meal
Customarily set aside
- Food and water for the duration, in the full observance
- Many keep a partial version with water, or with fruit and water, particularly the elderly, the unwell and children
SOURCE·Published accounts of Nirjala Ekadashi·reported, not prescribed; regional practice varies and the variation is the practice·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The food, with the numbers
Foods commonly associated with Nirjala Ekadashi, at the serving each is really eaten in. Every one has its own page with the full breakdown.
| Food | One serving is | Calories | Protein | Carbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain Water | 1 glass · 250 g | 0 kcal | 0.0 g | 0.0 g |
| Tender Coconut Water | 1 coconut · 250 g | 50 kcal | 0.5 g | 11.3 g |
| Banana | 1 medium banana · 100 g | 105 kcal | 1.3 g | 24.0 g |
| Curd (Dahi) | 1 katori · 150 g | 90 kcal | 4.7 g | 4.5 g |
| Nimbu Pani (Shikanji) | 1 glass · 250 g | 100 kcal | 0.0 g | 25.0 g |
| Watermelon (Tarbooz) | 1 katori cubes · 150 g | 30 kcal | 0.9 g | 5.9 g |
| Dates (Khajoor) | 2 dates · 16 g | 46 kcal | 0.4 g | 10.9 g |
One serving of each of these 7 items would come to about 422 kcal — a scale check, not a menu. Nirjala Ekadashi is not a calorie target and this table is not a plan.
What the vrat foods cost, counted per serving rather than per 100 g.
SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·per stated serving weight·REVIEWED JUL 2026
How to hold it without wrecking the week
This is the part nobody publishes well. None of it asks you to change the observance — training, sleep and meal timing are the variables you control, and the fast is not.
Training
Do not train hard on a dry fast in summer heat. This is the one place on this site where the guidance is not hedged: exercise raises core temperature and fluid loss at precisely the moment you cannot replace either. Rest, shade and stillness are the sensible plan, and there is nothing in the observance that asks you to do otherwise.
Sleep
Sleep the night before matters more than usual, because sleep loss reduces heat tolerance. The night after is often disturbed by thirst; rehydrating gradually after paran rather than in one enormous volume helps.
Blood sugar
A 24-hour fast without water is not appropriate for most people on glucose-lowering medication, and dehydration makes both hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia harder to detect and to treat. This needs a doctor's specific advice, in advance.
Hydration
There is no hydration strategy during a nirjala fast — that is the nature of it. What you can control is the day before: normal fluid, not excessive, and avoiding heavy salt loss through exercise or heat exposure. Afterwards, rehydrate over hours, not minutes.
The specific risk with Nirjala Ekadashi
Heat illness is the real danger here, and it escalates quickly. Stop and get help for: a headache that does not clear, dizziness or fainting, confusion or slurred speech, cramping, a racing heart at rest, or skin that has stopped sweating in the heat. These are medical emergencies, not tests of resolve. Every tradition that describes this fast also describes who is exempted from it.
Who should not fast · Fasting and blood sugar · Hydration during fasting · Sources
Questions asked about Nirjala Ekadashi
Who should not keep a nirjala fast?
The exemptions recognised in practice are broad, and every one of them exists for good reason: children, the elderly, the unwell, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and anyone on medication that requires food or fluid. Anyone with diabetes, kidney disease, or a condition affected by fluid balance should have a specific conversation with their doctor first.
How should the fast be broken?
Gently. Water first, in normal-sized glasses rather than in one long draught, then fruit, then a light meal. A very large meal onto an empty stomach after 24 dry hours is uncomfortable at best.
Can I do a normal workout on Nirjala Ekadashi?
No — and this is the only place on this site that gives a flat answer. Training on a dry fast in Indian summer heat combines every risk factor for heat illness at once. Rest is the correct plan.
Related observances
SOURCE·Published vrat traditions + IFCT 2017·observance accounts and food composition·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Practices are described as commonly observed; customs differ by family, region, community and sampradaya, and this site is not an authority on any of them. Food values come from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR–NIN), the older ICMR–NIN tables, USDA FoodData Central, named composition studies and the shared ThaliFacts dataset, reconciled against Atwater factors on every build. Which source applies to which food is listed per food, and every source carries the date it was last checked. General information only — not medical or religious guidance. Fasting is not safe for everyone, particularly during pregnancy or with diabetes or other conditions. Speak to a doctor first.
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