Dev Uthani Ekadashi Katha
Once Mata Lakshmi said to Lord Vishnu: “Prabhu, sometimes you stay awake day and night, and sometimes you sleep for lakhs of years. This upsets the balance of creation, and I too get no time away from serving you. Please take your rest at a set time every year.”
The Lord smiled and said: “Devi, you are right. When I stay awake, the devas, and you above all, get no rest. So from now on I will rest for four months every year during the rainy season. This will be my short sleep. Any devotee who serves me in this time and joyfully celebrates my sleeping and waking, I will live in that home together with you.”
Since then it is believed that the Lord sleeps on Devshayani Ekadashi and wakes on Kartik Shukla Ekadashi. These four months are called Chaturmas, and this is why auspicious events such as weddings are put on hold during them.
Another popular belief is linked to King Bali: pleased with Bali's devotion in the Vaman avatar, the Lord promised to stay with him, and he lives there during Chaturmas.
Puja samagri
- Sugarcane (4 or 5 stalks for the mandap), flower garlands
- A picture or idol of Lord Vishnu or a Shaligram
- A tulsi plant and tulsi leaves picked a day earlier
- Geru (red ochre) and rice flour, for the chowk and the Lord's footprints
- Ghee lamp, dhoop, roli, akshat, yellow cloth
- Water chestnut, sweet potato, ber, seasonal fruit, jaggery and sweets
- Everything in one place: buy puja samagri
How to make the sugarcane mandap
- In the evening, clean the courtyard or puja area and make a chowk with geru and rice flour.
- Stand the sugarcane stalks around the chowk and tie them together at the top.
- Decorate the mandap with flower garlands.
- Spread a yellow cloth in the middle and place Lord Vishnu or the Shaligram on it. Many homes also draw the Lord's footprints here.
Puja vidhi: step by step
- From the night before Dashami, eat sattvik food and avoid rice.
- On the morning of Ekadashi, bathe and take the sankalp (vow) of the vrat before Lord Vishnu.
- In the evening, light a lamp, remember Ganesh ji, then offer flowers, tulsi leaves, fruit and sweets to Lord Vishnu.
- Wake the Lord: With the family, sing ‘Utho Dev, Baitho Dev’ while ringing a plate, bell or conch.
- Read or listen to the katha above, then do Om Jai Jagdish Hare and the Ekadashi Mata Aarti.
- Share the prasad. Light lamps around the house.
- The next day, November 21, give daan after 6:48 am and break the fast.
Rules for this day
- Do not eat rice on Ekadashi.
- Do not pick tulsi leaves today; pick them a day earlier. See: Tulsi rules.
- General vrat rules: Ekadashi vrat rules.
- Auspicious events such as weddings resume from this day, but have your own muhurat fixed by a pandit ji.
Dev Uthani Ekadashi and Tulsi Vivah
After Dev Uthani Ekadashi comes Tulsi Vivah, in which Lord Vishnu in Shaligram form is married to Tulsi Mata. In 2026, Tulsi Vivah falls on November 21, Saturday, and in many places it is done on Ekadashi itself. Read: Tulsi Vivah Ki Katha.
Information checked: October 27, 2026. These are traditions and beliefs; give priority to your own family's customs.