Parivartini Ekadashi Vrat Katha · परिवर्तिनी एकादशी व्रत कथा

Krishna told Yudhishthira that the Ekadashi of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada is also called Vamana Ekadashi: on this day Vishnu is worshipped in his Vamana (dwarf) form, and in his sleep he turns over on his side, which is why it is called Parivartini. Whoever keeps this fast and worships him, he said, worships Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and all three worlds.

Then he told its story. In the Treta age there was a daitya king, Bali, devoted to Vishnu, generous, truthful and a servant of brahmins. Yet he conquered the heaven of Indra and the gods. The gods, unable to bear this, went to Vishnu and prayed for help.

Vishnu took the form of Vamana, a young brahmin, and came to Bali asking for a gift of just three steps of land. Bali gladly granted it. Then Vishnu grew to a vast size: with his first step he measured the earth and with his second the heavens. There was no room left for the third, and he asked Bali where to place it. Bali bowed his head, and Vishnu set his foot upon it and sent him down to Patala, the netherworld.

Pleased by Bali's devotion and his faithfulness to his word, Vishnu promised to remain near him always, while he sleeps in the ocean of milk.

The katha says that whoever keeps this fast with due rites is freed from all sins, that it is good to give copper, silver, rice and curd on this day, and that offering lotuses to Vishnu on this day is especially commended.

Parivartini Ekadashi is the Ekadashi of the bright fortnight (Shukla paksha) of Bhadrapada. Its story belongs to the series in which each Ekadashi's glory is told, often as Krishna's answer to the Pandavas. It is also called Vamana Ekadashi and Parsva Ekadashi. It falls during Chaturmas, the four months of Vishnu's sleep, and is the day on which he is said to turn over in his sleep, which gives it the name Parivartini ("the turning").

The published versions are in Hindi prose and differ in wording and in some names and details. The retelling above keeps only what at least two of the versions linked below agree on. For this year's date, see Ekadashi.

The katha is read or heard on Parivartini Ekadashi as part of the worship of Vishnu. Customs vary by family and region.