Vaikuntha Ekadasi 2021

Vaikuntha Ekadasi falls in the month of Dhanur (Margazhi), the month the Alvars sang of as the most dear to the Lord. The temple tradition tells of two asuras, Madhu and Kaitabha, who were defeated by Lord Vishnu and, at the end, asked Him for His grace. Vishnu opened the northern door of His abode for them, and they asked that whoever sees Him come out through that door on this Ekadashi, and follows Him through it, should reach Vaikuntha as well. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana the day is Mukkoti Ekadasi: the three crore devas are said to gather at Vaikuntha on this day to see the Lord.

The Vaikuntha Dvara

Every great Vishnu temple keeps a northern gate, the Vaikuntha Dvara (Uttara Dvara), that stays shut through the year. On Vaikuntha Ekadasi it is opened before dawn. The utsava murti of the Lord is brought out through it first, and devotees then pass through the same gate for darshan, as if entering Vaikuntha itself. In Tamil Nadu the gate is the Swarga Vasal, the door to heaven, and the day is called Swarga Vathil Ekadasi.

Srirangam: Paramapada Vasal

At the Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple, Srirangam, the first of the 108 Divya Desams, Vaikuntha Ekadasi crowns a twenty one day festival, the Adhyayana Utsavam. Its first ten days, the Pagal Pathu, and its last ten nights, the Ra Pathu, are filled with the Araiyar Sevai, the sung and enacted recitation of the Alvars' Nalayira Divya Prabandham. On the eve, Namperumal appears as Mohini. Before dawn on Ekadashi, Namperumal, adorned in the Ratnangi, the armour of rubies, is carried through the Paramapada Vasal, and lakhs of devotees follow Him through it.

Tirumala: Vaikuntha Dvara Darshanam

At the Sri Venkateswara temple, Tirumala, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) opens the Vaikuntha Dvaram, the passage that circles the sanctum, which is closed the rest of the year. Devotees walk this Vaikuntha Dvara Darshanam path around the Lord. TTD keeps it open for ten days from Vaikuntha Ekadasi so that more pilgrims can have darshan, and issues tokens and tickets for it in advance. The Malayappa Swami takes out the procession on the golden chariot, and on Dvadashi the Sudarshana Chakra is bathed in the Swami Pushkarini, the Chakra Snanam.

Bhadrachalam and other temples

At the Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple, Bhadrachalam, the Lord gives Uttara Dvara Darshanam through the northern gate at dawn. Vishnu, Krishna, Rama and Narasimha temples across South India, and Venkateswara temples around the world, open their own Vaikuntha Dvara on this day, and the queues often begin the night before.

Keeping the day

Devotees fast through Ekadashi, many without even water, and keep away from rice and grains. The night is spent awake in jagarana, with the Lord's names, the Vishnu Sahasranama and the Divya Prabandham. Passing through the Vaikuntha Dvara is the heart of the day. The fast is broken the next morning, on Dvadashi, which completes the vrata.