Mokshada Ekadashi 2027 in USA: Thu, Dec 9 — Puja Time by City

How the Mokshada Ekadashi (Gita Jayanti) date is decided

Ekadashi tithi at local sunrise (Udaya) — the Smarta rule; when Dashami touches Arunodaya (96 minutes before sunrise) Vaishnavas fast the next day. Parana (breaking the fast) the next morning after sunrise, after Hari Vasara and before Dwadashi ends.

Significance

The Padma Purana calls it the 'moksha-giving' Ekadashi among all — liberation for the vrati's ancestors as well. Those who feel their ancestors are restless, or who missed a shraddha, keep this fast with special care.

Gita Jayanti — a grand festival at Kurukshetra, Gita recitation, 'Shrimad Bhagavad Gita ki jai'; at home reading one of the 18 chapters (usually the 12th, Bhakti Yoga, or the 15th, Purushottama Yoga) is considered enough.

Krishna said of Margashirsha 'masanam Margashirsho'ham' — it is his own month; its Shukla Ekadashi is specially fruitful. The paran of the Ekadashi fast is on the next day, Dwadashi — the date is above.

Puja vidhi (brief)

1. Sattvik food and celibacy on the night of Dashami; on Ekadashi bathe before sunrise, wear yellow, take the sankalp — 'I keep the Mokshada Ekadashi vrat for my own welfare and that of my ancestors.'
2. Worship of Vishnu/Lakshmi-Narayana — panchamrit bath, yellow flowers, Tulsi leaves, sandalwood, incense and lamp, naivedya (fruit and sweets); 108 chants of 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya'.
3. Gita reading — one chapter (12th/15th) or the whole Gita, with the family seated together; worship the Gita book with flowers and sandalwood, 'Gita aarti'.
4. For the ancestors: tarpan of water and sesame facing south, donation of grain, clothes and blankets to a Brahmin/the needy, fodder to a cow — speak the sankalp of offering the merit of the fast to the ancestors.
5. Fruit/waterless all day (as strength allows); no sleeping in the day, bhajan-kirtan; in the evening a lamp at the Tulsi platform and Vishnu aarti.
6. Night vigil (if possible) — Gita/Vishnu Sahasranama; otherwise bhajans at least till midnight.
7. Paran: on Dwadashi after sunrise, once the Hari Vasar has passed and before the Dwadashi ends — first feeding a Brahmin/charity, then yourself with a Tulsi leaf.

Frequently asked questions

Is Mokshada Ekadashi (Gita Jayanti) 2027 on the same day in USA and India?

Yes — Thursday, December 9, 2027.

Which time zone are these timings in?

Each row is in that city's own local time with daylight saving applied (Eastern Time (EST/EDT) for New York).

Are Mokshada Ekadashi and Vaikuntha Ekadashi the same?

South India's Vaikuntha Ekadashi is the Shukla Ekadashi of Dhanurmasa (solar Margashirsha) — in many years it is this very tithi, in some years the one in Pausha. North India uses the name Mokshada.

How to offer the merit of the fast to the ancestors?

At the end of the puja take water and sesame in your hand and say — 'May the merit of this fast reach my ancestors (names), may they attain moksha' — and release the water towards the south; along with it donate grain and clothes in their name.

Which chapter of the Gita to read?

If not the whole, the 12th (Bhakti Yoga, 20 verses) or the 15th (Purushottama Yoga, 20 verses) — short and essential; or the 2nd (Sankhya Yoga). Having children memorise verse 2.47 (Karmanye vadhikaraste) is a good custom.

Daily panchang in USA

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