Overview
Nirjala Ekadashi (Sanskrit: निर्जला एकादशी, romanized: Nirjalā Ekādaśī) is a Hindu holy day observed on the eleventh lunar day (ekadashi) of the waxing fortnight (shukla paksha) of the Hindu month of Jyeshtha, which corresponds to May or June in the Gregorian calendar. It is one of the twenty-four ekadashis observed across the Hindu lunar year.
The observance derives its name from the Sanskrit term nirjala, meaning "without water". Devotees who keep this vrata traditionally abstain from both food and water for the duration of the fast, distinguishing it from other ekadashi observances which may permit the consumption of water or certain permitted foods.
Within the tradition, Nirjala Ekadashi is regarded as the most austere of all the ekadashis owing to the complete abstention from water. It is correspondingly held to be the most sacred among them. According to traditional belief, observing this single fast with due devotion is said to confer the spiritual merit gained from observing all twenty-four ekadashis falling within the year.