Indira Ekadashi 2025: Fasting, rituals, significance and the Legend of King Indrasena

Hindus across the country are observing Indira Ekadashi today, a fast considered especially significant as it falls during Pitru Paksha.

Devotees believe that keeping this fast not only clears Pitru Dosha (ancestral afflictions) but also grants peace to the departed and helps them on the path to Moksha.

Alongside fasting, people also perform shraadh rituals to honour their forefathers.

Rituals, fasting, & timings for Indira Ekadashi 2025

The fast, known as Indira Ekadashi vrat, continues until Dwadashi Tithi, with the auspicious Paran (breaking of fast) time in 2025 being from 6:07 am to 8:34 am on 17 September. Devotees are encouraged to donate food, clothes, or essentials to the poor after completing the vrat.

The puja vidhi is simple yet spiritually powerful:

• Begin with a morning bath and wear clean clothes
  
• Take a vow to observe the vrat while remembering ancestors
  
• Place an idol or image of Lord Vishnu on a decorated platform and light a ghee lamp
  
• Offer flowers, sweets, and recite the Indira Ekadashi Katha
  
• Perform an aarti to Lord Vishnu and light a lamp for forefathers
  
• End with charity, symbolising gratitude and selflessness

Indira Ekadashi Vrat Katha: The story of King Indrasena & Indira Ekadashi

The origins of this fast go back to the Satyuga, where King Indrasena ruled the prosperous kingdom of Mahishmati. One day, sage Narada visited his court with a divine message: the king’s late father was yearning for liberation but was trapped by the weight of his past misdeeds.

Narada explained that only the observance of the Ashwin Krishna Paksha Ekadashi vrat could release him.

The sage instructed the king to pray to Lord Vishnu on Dashami, perform shradh rituals for his ancestors, and then keep a strict fast on Ekadashi. Indrasena followed every instruction with devotion, and through this sacred observance, he succeeded in freeing his father’s soul from Yama Loka.

This Ekadashi, blending devotion with remembrance, is seen as a bridge between the living and the departed—strengthening faith while honouring ancestry.