Vaikuntha Ekadasi, called Mukkoti Ekadasi in Telugu, is the bright-half Ekadasi that falls in Dhanurmasam, while the Sun is in Dhanus (Sagittarius). On this day the gate of Vaikuntha, Vishnu's abode, is said to stand open. Vishnu temples open their northern door, the Vaikuntha Dwaram, before dawn, and devotees queue through the night to pass through it.
The story
Mukkoti means three crores: the thirty million gods are said to come to see Vishnu on this day. One story tells that Vishnu opened the gate of Vaikuntha for two demons he had fought, who asked that anyone who passed through it on this day should reach him too.
It is the most strictly kept of the twenty-four Ekadasis of the year; a fast on this one is held to equal a fast on all the rest.
How it is kept
- Uttara Dwara darsanamPassing through the northern door, opened only for this occasion.
- The fastNo grain is eaten, and the strictest take nothing at all. The fast is broken on Dwadasi morning.
- The vigilThe night is spent awake with the Vishnu Sahasranamam, bhajans and readings.
- DhanurmasamThe day falls within the month of Tiruppavai sung before dawn, which ends at Bhogi.
Why this date
Vaikuntha Ekadasi is the Ekadasi of the bright half that falls while the Sun is in Dhanus, between mid-December and mid-January. Because it is fixed by the Sun and the Moon together, some calendar years have none and others have two.
Vaikuntha Ekadasi in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Friday | |
| 2026 | Sunday | |
| 2028 | Saturday | |
| 2029 | Sunday |
More Telugu festivals
15 DecemberSubrahmanya Shashthiసుబ్రహ్మణ్య షష్ఠి
24 NovemberKarthika Pournamiకార్తీక పౌర్ణమి
14 January 2027Bhogiభోగి
15 January 2027Makara Sankrantiమకర సంక్రాంతి
13 NovemberNagula Chavithiనాగుల చవితి
16 January 2027Kanumaకనుమ
Where to see Vaikuntha Ekadasi
In the Telugu states
- Venkateswara Temple, TirumalaAndhra PradeshThe Vaikuntha Dwaram, the passage round the sanctum, is opened to pilgrims, in recent years for ten days.
- BhadrachalamTelanganaMukkoti is this temple's second great festival: a float on the Godavari the evening before, and darsanam through the northern door at dawn.
- YadagiriguttaTelanganaThe rebuilt hill temple of Lakshmi Narasimha, an hour from Hyderabad.
Across India
- SrirangamTamil NaduThe centre of a twenty-one-day festival; the Paramapada Vasal is opened and the Lord passes through it in a robe of gems.
- Parthasarathy Temple, ChennaiTamil NaduAn eighth-century temple in Triplicane, with the same door opened before dawn.
- Padmanabhaswamy Temple, ThiruvananthapuramKeralaKerala calls the day Swargavathil Ekadasi, the Ekadasi of heaven's door.