Ekadashi and Adhik Maas in Braj: The Year-Round and Once-in-Three-Years Devotions

The eleventh tithi of each lunar fortnight, the great fasting and devotional day of the Vaishnavas, dear to worshippers of Krishna and Vishnu. It falls twice a month.

Twice a month, once in each fortnight, so about twenty-four times a year. There is an Ekadashi to keep on any visit of a fortnight or more. Confirm the dates on the panchang.

As a day of fasting, devotion and purification dear to Vishnu and Krishna, when the mind is turned to the Lord. In Vrindavan it is kept with fasting, parikrama and bhajan.

Recurring, twice a month, the rhythm of Vaishnava devotion, with some Ekadashis especially great. It is a devotion, not a one-date festival.

No, the fast is a devotion, not an obligation for visitors; keep it as your tradition does, or simply honour the day in the temples. We never impose it.

Some abstain from grains, some from food, some even from water on the strictest, keeping the day in bhajan and parikrama. Forms vary by tradition; follow your own.

Yes, the Vrindavan temples and Goswami seats keep special darshan on Ekadashi, the town turning to devotion. We sequence the temples and the parikrama.

Yes, it is one of the most devotional rhythms of the town, the parikrama walked and the temples full of bhajan. We plan a meaningful Ekadashi.

Nirjala, the waterless fast of Jyeshtha; Devshayani, when Vishnu sleeps; Prabodhini, when he wakes and Tulsi Vivah begins; and Amalaki or Rangbharni, when Banke Bihari plays Holi, among others.

The waterless Ekadashi of Jyeshtha, the most demanding and meritorious, kept without even water; it is held to carry the merit of all the year's Ekadashis. Keep it only as your health and tradition allow.

The Ekadashi of Ashadh when Vishnu enters his four-month cosmic sleep, beginning Chaturmas, when major auspicious activities pause. It opens the holy four months.

The Kartik Ekadashi when Vishnu wakes from his sleep, ending Chaturmas and beginning the wedding season and Tulsi Vivah. It is a joyful threshold.

The Phalguna Ekadashi when Banke Bihari plays Holi and Vrindavan turns to colour, the same day as the flower Holi. It is one of the great Vrindavan days.

Yes, Mokshada (with Gita Jayanti), Putrada, Vaikuntha and others, each with its grace. We tell you which falls on your dates and what it carries.

Yes, each carries its own legend and merit in the tradition; we tell the one your visit falls on. They enrich the day with meaning.

With fasting, the parikrama marg walked, bhajan sung, and special darshan at the temples and Goswami seats. The town turns to devotion twice a month.

The Vrindavan parikrama is walked devotionally on Ekadashi; the town and the pilgrims keep it. We can walk it with you.

The principal seats and the Goswami temples keep special darshan; we sequence the loveliest. The whole town is devotional.

The fast is broken on Dwadashi, the next day, by tradition, often with temple prasad; forms vary. We guide you by your tradition.

Yes, gently and by their own form; the fast is never imposed, and the temple darshan is open to all. We plan a comfortable day.

Busier than ordinary days with the parikrama and the devout, but not a dangerous crush except on the great Ekadashis. We plan the timing.

The extra lunar month inserted about every three years to align the lunar and solar calendars, also called Mal Maas or Purushottam Maas. Tradition holds Krishna made it his own, supremely auspicious for devotion.

Because the rejected, unwanted extra month was taken by Krishna, Purushottam, as his own, turning the lowliest month into the holiest. It is the month of the Supreme Person.

About every three years, to keep the lunar and solar calendars aligned. Confirm the next Adhik Maas on the panchang, as the timing varies.

Because Krishna made the rejected month his own, it is held supremely auspicious for parikrama, daan, fasting and bhajan, a whole month for devotion. In Braj it is the great pilgrimage season.

They come to Braj in great numbers for parikrama, above all the 84-kos circuit, for daan and bhajan and intensive devotion. The whole land turns to pilgrimage.

For intense devotion and the great parikrama, supremely so; but it draws huge crowds, so book well ahead and plan honestly. We advise by the season it falls in.

It recurs about every three years; confirm the next on the panchang, as the timing shifts. We will tell you if your dates fall in one.

Yes, the entire Adhik Maas is held holy for devotion, with the parikrama and daan kept throughout. A visit anywhere in it shares the grace.

The great 84-kos circuit, about 250 km, of the whole of Braj, its twelve forests, towns and holy sites, the supreme Braj pilgrimage, walked by lakhs in Adhik Maas over weeks.

About 250 km, 84 kos, walked over weeks; it is a major undertaking. Few visitors walk the entire circuit, so most keep a representative parikrama or an organised section. We plan it honestly.

Only with weeks and real preparation; it is walked by the devout over a long stretch, often in organised yatras. For most we plan a representative parikrama or the key sites. We are honest about the undertaking.

The twelve forests, vans, of Braj, the towns of Mathura, Vrindavan, Govardhan, Barsana, Nandgaon, Gokul and the holy sites between, the full land of Krishna's leela. It is Braj entire.

The twelve sacred vans, including Vrindavan, Madhuvan, Kumudvan, Bahulavan, Kamyavan, Khadirvan, Bhandirvan, Bhadravan, Lohvan, Mahavan, Talavan and Bilvan, each tied to a leela. The Chaurasi Kos parikrama links them.

Yes, a representative parikrama of the key sites and forests, or an organised section, keeps the spirit without the full 250 km. We plan it to your body and time.

Great organised yatras walk it in Adhik Maas, with arrangements over the weeks; we can connect you to a stretch or plan a representative parikrama. We never leave you to it alone.

With planning and honest pacing, yes; the risk is the distance and the season's heat or rain, not danger. We fit it to your body and arrange support. We never oversell it.

Mathura Junction is the railhead; Agra and Delhi the airports. We arrange pickups and plan the temples, the Ekadashi parikrama, or the Adhik Maas circuit.

For Ekadashi, modest temple cover and comfort; for the parikrama, good footwear, water, sun or rain cover by the season, and minimal valuables. We advise for your plan.

Adhik Maas draws huge crowds, but with planning it is devotional rather than dangerous; book ahead and let us plan the timing. We manage the crush.

Give only at a temple hundi or a known gaushala, never to a tout; daan is central to these devotions, so we guide you to genuine channels.

Because the Ekadashi fast and the 84-kos parikrama are devotions an aggregator cannot interpret; knowing which Ekadashi falls, how to keep it, and how to fit the vast parikrama honestly to your body is a Brajwasi's knowledge.

Yes, Gurudutt is a born Brajwasi guiding since 2018, who knows the Ekadashis, the parikrama and the twelve forests. Home ground.

Yes, the full circuit, a section, or the key sites, fitted to your time, body and devotion. We never oversell the undertaking.

Yes, all-inclusive with no hidden charges. The price quoted is the price paid.

Yes, if your dates include one, we plan the fast as your tradition keeps it and the temples and parikrama at their most devotional. We tell you which Ekadashi falls.

Yes, in an Adhik Maas we can connect you to an organised stretch or plan a representative parikrama. Tell us your dates and we advise.

Yes, Hindi and English as standard, with Telugu, Tamil and other support on request.

Yes, a representative parikrama or the key sites with vehicle support and rest, fitted to their body. Tell us your group.

Message us on WhatsApp at +91 7302265809 with your dates and group size; we reply within two hours, tell you which Ekadashi or whether Adhik Maas falls, and plan the devotion honestly. Radhe Radhe.