Saphala Ekadasi 2026

Sri Krishna told Yudhishthira of Lumpaka, the eldest son of the king of Champavati. He lived in gambling and other vices and spoke ill of the gods, so his father banished him from the kingdom.

Lumpaka lived in the forest by theft. On the Dashami of this dark fortnight the cold was so bitter that he could not sleep, and he lay shivering all night under a sacred tree. The next day he was too weak to hunt, so he gathered fallen fruits and, with no one to eat them, placed them at the root of the tree, saying, let Lord Hari be pleased. He stayed awake again that night in hunger.

Without knowing it he had kept the Saphala Ekadashi fast and vigil. The Lord accepted it. Lumpaka was transformed, returned home, received his kingdom, ruled with devotion, and in the end reached Vishnu's abode. Saphala means fruitful: even an unknowing fast bears fruit.