Vaikunta Ekadasi 2026 is on Sunday, 20 December. It is the Shukla Ekadashi of the Tamil solar month of Margazhi (the month of Dhanu, from 16 December), and in 2026 the same day is also Mokshada Ekadashi and Gita Jayanti in the North Indian panchang. The Ekadashi tithi runs from 10:10 PM on 19 December to 8:16 PM on 20 December, so both Smarta and Vaishnava devotees fast on 20 December, and the parana is on the morning of 21 December: 6:26 to 8:42 AM in Chennai. The temples announce the dates and times of the Vaikunta Dwara Darshan at Tirumala and of the opening of the Paramapada Vasal (Swarga Vasal) at Srirangam; by 18 October 2026 the 2026 announcements had not been made.
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City-wise times
The Ekadashi tithi is the same in every city; the parana on 21 December changes with the city’s sunrise. For another city, pick it in the box above.
| City | Parana (breaking the fast) |
|---|---|
| Chennai | 6:26–8:42 AM (21 Dec) |
| Tirupati | 6:31–8:46 AM (21 Dec) |
| Hyderabad | 6:41–8:54 AM (21 Dec) |
| Bengaluru | 6:37–8:53 AM (21 Dec) |
| Madurai | 6:29–8:48 AM (21 Dec) |
At a glance
- Date
- Sunday, 20 December 2026 (day 5 of the Tamil month Margazhi)
- Ekadashi tithi
- 10:10 PM on 19 December to 8:16 PM on 20 December (Drik Panchang: 10:09 PM to 8:14 PM)
- Parana, 21 December
- Chennai 6:26–8:42, Hyderabad 6:41–8:54, Bengaluru 6:37–8:53 AM
- Smarta and Vaishnava
- Both fast on 20 December
- Same day in North India
- Mokshada Ekadashi and Gita Jayanti
- Telugu name
- Mukkoti Ekadasi
- Tirumala
- Vaikunta Dwara Darshan; 10 days in 2025-26 (30 December to 8 January); TTD will announce the 2026 dates
- Srirangam
- The 20-day festival of Margazhi: Pagal Pathu, then Ra Pathu; Paramapada Vasal on the first day of Ra Pathu
- Deity
- Vishnu: Venkateswara at Tirumala, Ranganatha at Srirangam
Vaikunta Ekadasi and Mokshada Ekadashi: one day this year
In South India Vaikunta Ekadasi is set by the solar month: the Shukla Ekadashi of the solar month of Dhanu (Margazhi in Tamil; the month is also called Dhanurmasam). North Indian panchangs go by the lunar month, and the Shukla Ekadashi of Margashirsha is called Mokshada Ekadashi. In 2026 the Dhanu Sankranti is at 10:31 AM on 16 December, so Margazhi begins on 16 December, and the Shukla Ekadashi of 20 December falls in both reckonings. Drik Panchang’s Tamil panchangam for Chennai also marks 20 December as both “Vaikuntha Ekadashi” and “Mokshada Ekadashi”. It is not so every year: because of this meeting of solar and lunar months, Vaikunta Ekadasi sometimes falls on Mokshada Ekadashi and sometimes on the Shukla Ekadashi of the next lunar month, Pausha (Putrada). In 2025, for example, Vaikunta Ekadasi was on 30 December (PTI), about a month after Mokshada Ekadashi.
The fast, the parana and the katha
This year the fast of Vaikunta Ekadasi is the same as that of Mokshada Ekadashi: the fast on 20 December and the parana on the morning of 21 December, after Hari Vasara (the first quarter of Dwadashi, until 1:36 AM). The Ekadashi begins before sunrise on 20 December, on the night of 19 December, and ends before sunrise on 21 December, so there is no question of Dashami-viddha or of a second, Vaishnava day: Smarta and Vaishnava devotees both fast on 20 December. The rules of the fast, the puja and the story of King Vaikhanasa are on the Mokshada Ekadashi page and are not repeated here. See your city’s parana in the box above and in the table below.
Tirumala: Vaikunta Dwara Darshan
At the Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala the temple’s Vaikunta Dwaram is opened for Vaikunta Ekadasi; it stays closed for the rest of the year (PTI). By tradition passing through this gate is held to free the devotee from the cycle of rebirth (Deccan Chronicle, 3 January 2023). In 2025-26 Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) kept the gate open for 10 days.
In 2025-26
The Vaikunta Dwara Darshan ran for 10 days, from 30 December 2025 (Vaikunta Ekadasi) to 8 January 2026. TTD issued the tokens for the first three days by a draw (e-dip) after online registration, and no offline tokens were given at counters.
PTI (The Week), 30 December 2025; The Federal, 18 November 2025In 2026
By 18 October 2026 TTD had not announced the 2026 dates or the token arrangements. The token rules can change every year; check TTD’s official website, ttdevasthanams.ap.gov.in, before you travel.
Srirangam: Pagal Pathu, Ra Pathu and the Paramapada Vasal
The Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam (Tiruchirappalli) is counted first among the 108 Divya Desams, and the Sri Vaishnava tradition calls it “Bhuloka Vaikuntam”, Vaikuntha on earth. A twenty-day festival is held here in Margazhi.
Pagal Pathu and Ra Pathu
The first ten days are called “Pagal Pathu” (ten of the day) and the next ten “Ra Pathu” (ten of the night). The first day of Ra Pathu is Vaikunta Ekadasi. On these days the Araiyar Sevai is held, in which the araiyars sing and enact the hymns of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham; the tradition is traced to Nathamuni in the 10th century.
Wikipedia: Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam (Madras District Gazetteers, 1907; Cutler, 1987)The Paramapada Vasal
On the morning of Vaikunta Ekadasi the processional image (Namperumal) is brought through the Paramapada Vasal, also called the Swarga Vasal, to the thousand-pillared hall. The gate opens only during the ten days of Ra Pathu, and pilgrims believe that one who passes through it reaches Vaikuntha. In 2025 the Pagal Pathu began on 20 December and the Paramapada Vasal was to open at 5:45 AM on 30 December (ANI).
Wikipedia (Cole, 1882); ANI, 20 December 2025In 2026
In 2025 the Pagal Pathu began ten days before the Ekadasi. The temple (Arulmigu Sri Ranganathaswamy temple, HR&CE) will announce the 2026 festival dates and the time of the Paramapada Vasal; we found no announcement by 18 October 2026.
Checked against Drik Panchang
The times on this page are from our panchang calculation (Indian Standard Time, Lahiri ayanamsha). Drik Panchang’s Ekadashi list (New Delhi) has the Mokshada Ekadashi tithi from 10:09 PM on 19 December to 8:14 PM on 20 December and the parana on 21 December from 7:10 to 9:13 AM; our calculation gives the tithi from 10:10 PM to 8:16 PM and the New Delhi parana from 7:09 to 9:13. The date of 20 December is also in Drik’s Tamil panchangam for Chennai. Drik’s own Vaikuntha Ekadashi page did not open on 18 October because of a reCAPTCHA, so the parana for southern cities is ours, by the same rule that matches Drik in New Delhi: on the morning of Dwadashi, after Hari Vasara, in the first fifth of the day.
Frequently asked questions
When is Vaikunta Ekadasi in 2026?
On Sunday, 20 December. The Ekadashi tithi runs from 10:10 PM on 19 December to 8:16 PM on 20 December, and Drik Panchang’s Tamil panchangam for Chennai also gives Vaikunta Ekadasi on 20 December.
When is the Vaikunta Ekadasi 2026 parana?
On the morning of Monday 21 December, after Hari Vasara: 6:26 to 8:42 AM in Chennai, 6:41 to 8:54 in Hyderabad, 6:37 to 8:53 in Bengaluru and 6:31 to 8:46 in Tirupati. See your city’s time in the box above.
Are Vaikunta Ekadasi and Mokshada Ekadashi the same?
In 2026 both are on 20 December. But the rules differ: Vaikunta Ekadasi is the Shukla Ekadashi of the solar month of Dhanu (Tamil Margazhi), while Mokshada Ekadashi is the Shukla Ekadashi of the lunar month of Margashirsha. So in some years Vaikunta Ekadasi falls on the Shukla Ekadashi of the next lunar month, Pausha, as on 30 December in 2025.
Do Smarta and Vaishnava devotees fast on different days?
Not in 2026. The Ekadashi begins at 10:10 PM on 19 December, so there is no Dashami at dawn (arunodaya) on 20 December, and it ends before sunrise on 21 December. So both traditions fast on 20 December.
When does the Tirumala Vaikunta Dwara Darshan begin in 2026?
By 18 October 2026 TTD had not announced the 2026 dates. In 2025-26 the darshan ran for 10 days from Vaikunta Ekadasi (30 December 2025) to 8 January 2026 (PTI). Check TTD’s website, ttdevasthanams.ap.gov.in, for the 2026 dates and token rules.
When will the Paramapada Vasal (Swarga Vasal) open at Srirangam?
By tradition on the morning of Vaikunta Ekadasi, that is on the morning of 20 December in 2026, the first day of Ra Pathu. In 2025 it was to open at 5:45 AM on 30 December (ANI). The Sri Ranganathaswamy temple will announce the 2026 time.
What is Mukkoti Ekadasi?
In the Telugu-speaking regions (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana) Vaikunta Ekadasi is called Mukkoti Ekadasi (Wikipedia: Vaikuntha Ekadashi). In 2026 it is on 20 December.
When is Vaikunta Ekadasi in 2027?
Not in December 2027. In 2027 Margazhi begins on 16 December, and the Shukla Ekadashi before it (Mokshada, 9 December) does not fall in Margazhi; Drik Panchang’s Tamil panchangam also has no Vaikunta Ekadasi in December 2027. The next Vaikunta Ekadasi will be on the Shukla Ekadashi of Margazhi in January 2028.
Sources
- Drik Panchang: Tamil panchangam, Chennai, December 2026 and December 2027 (20 December 2026: Vaikuntha Ekadashi, Mokshada Ekadashi), read on 18 October 2026
- Drik Panchang: Ekadashi list 2026, New Delhi (Mokshada Ekadashi: tithi 10:09 PM on 19 December to 8:14 PM on 20 December, parana 21 December 7:10–9:13)
- PTI (The Week), 30 December 2025: Vaikunta Dwara Darshan at Tirumala from 30 December 2025 to 8 January 2026; “Vaikunta Dwaram will not be opened in the whole year except during this auspicious period”
- The Federal, 18 November 2025: TTD board decision, the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshan, online tokens only (e-dip)
- ANI (Devdiscourse), 20 December 2025: Pagal Pathu begins at Srirangam; Paramapada Vasal on 30 December 2025 at 5:45 AM
- Deccan Chronicle, 3 January 2023: passing through the Vaikunta Dwaram at Tirumala, “considered to relieve devotees from the cycle of rebirth”
- Wikipedia: Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam (Madras District Gazetteers 1907; Cole 1882; Cutler 1987; Mittal & Thursby 2005) and Vaikuntha Ekadashi (the solar month of Dhanu, meeting Mokshada or Putrada Ekadashi, Mukkoti Ekadasi)
- TTD: ttdevasthanams.ap.gov.in (for the 2026 announcement)
- Rules of the fast and the Mokshada Ekadashi katha: this site’s Mokshada Ekadashi page
- The belief about the Vaikuntha gate: Sri Vaishnava tradition
- Nakshatra, tithi, sunset and parana: SanatanBodh panchang calculation (astronomy-engine, Lahiri ayanamsha), checked against Drik Panchang’s Tamil panchangam (Chennai) and Ekadashi list (New Delhi), 18 October 2026
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