Dev Uthani Ekadashi 2026 falls on Friday, November 20, on Kartik Shukla Ekadashi. It’s also called Prabodhini Ekadashi.
What the day marks
Lord Vishnu wakes from four months of yogic sleep on this day, ending Chaturmas. That four-month period (roughly mid-July through mid-November) is considered inauspicious for major ceremonies, which is why you won’t find Indian weddings scheduled between Devshayani Ekadashi and this date. Dev Uthani Ekadashi is, quite literally, the day the wedding season opens.
Tulsi Vivah, the ceremonial marriage of the Tulsi plant to Lord Vishnu (or his Shaligram form), is celebrated the next day, on Dwadashi. In many families, especially in Maharashtra and Gujarat, Tulsi Vivah is the first “wedding” of the season, and no family wedding is booked before it. If you’re part of the NRI community planning a winter wedding in India, this is why the earliest dates your pandit will suggest fall after November 20.
Why Chaturmas matters for planning
If you’ve ever wondered why Indian wedding season seems to start abruptly in late November and run through February, Chaturmas is the answer. The four months of Vishnu’s sleep (Ashadha Shukla Ekadashi to Kartik Shukla Ekadashi) overlap with the monsoon season in India, which historically made travel and large gatherings impractical. The religious observance and the practical reality reinforced each other. Even today, with modern venues and air travel, most Hindu families won’t schedule a wedding during Chaturmas.
For NRI families coordinating between India and abroad, this creates a narrow window. The wedding season opens after Dev Uthani Ekadashi and essentially closes by late February or early March (before the next inauspicious patch begins). Booking priests, venues, and vivah muhurats within that window is competitive, so families who know this date early can plan better.
Puja timing and how to observe
The evening puja involves waking Lord Vishnu with the sound of a conch and bell. Families place a Shaligram or Vishnu idol on a decorated chowki, offer tulsi leaves, fruits, and panchamrit, and ring the conch to symbolize the god waking from sleep. In some traditions, sugarcane stalks are placed near the puja area.
The Ekadashi fast runs from sunrise on the 20th through the Dwadashi parana the next morning. The parana (the window during which you break the fast) has a specific time range tied to Dwadashi tithi’s end. Breaking the fast too early or too late is considered inauspicious, so the exact parana window matters.
If you’re observing abroad, the rituals stay the same. The Tulsi plant (holy basil) grows well in pots indoors, and many Indian families in colder climates keep one year-round for exactly this kind of occasion. If you don’t have a Shaligram, a Vishnu murti works the same way.
Check your city’s timing
For the correct parana time based on your location’s sunrise and Dwadashi tithi, check the muhurat page with your city selected. The parana window shifts depending on when Dwadashi tithi ends in your time zone, so a Toronto family and a Delhi family will have different windows on the same day.