Hari Sayana Ekadasi, the eleventh day of the bright fortnight of Ashadha, falls in Odisha the day after the gods return from Gundicha. Their chariots stand before the Lion Gate of the temple, and that evening the three deities are dressed where they stand in gold: crowns, hands, feet, necklaces and weapons from the temple treasury. This is Suna Besha, seen by more than a million people in a few hours. Afterwards, Vishnu sleeps for four months.
The story
The gold was given, by tradition, by King Kapilendra Deva in the fifteenth century, who returned from a conquest in the south with sixteen elephant-loads of treasure and laid it all before Jagannath.
With this Ekadasi Chaturmasya begins. Two days later, in Niladri Bije, the gods go back inside.
How it is kept
- Suna BeshaFrom about five in the evening until late at night.
- Ekadasi fastRice is not eaten; the fast is broken next morning.
- Adhara PanaOn the following day huge clay pots of sweet drink are offered on the chariots and then smashed, for the spirits that accompany the gods.
- SayanaThe gods are ritually put to sleep.
Why this date
Hari Sayana Ekadasi is the Ekadasi of the bright fortnight of Ashadha, on the day it is present at sunrise, placed so that the fast is broken during Dwadasi.
Hari Sayana Ekadasi in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Sunday | |
| 2026 | Saturday | |
| 2027 | Wednesday | |
| 2028 | Sunday | |
| 2029 | Saturday | |
| 2030 | Thursday |
More Odia festivals
16 JulyRatha Jatraରଥଯାତ୍ରା
29 JulyGuru Purnimaଗୁରୁ ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣିମା
28 AugustGamha Purnimaଗହ୍ମା ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣିମା
15 JuneRajaରଜ
19 AprilAkshaya Tritiyaଅକ୍ଷୟ ତୃତୀୟା
4 SeptemberJanmashtamiଜନ୍ମାଷ୍ଟମୀ
Where to see Hari Sayana Ekadasi
In Odisha
- The Lion Gate, PuriOdishaSuna Besha on the chariots, in front of the temple.
- BaripadaOdishaThe town's own Bahuda and Suna Besha follow Puri's by a day.
- KendraparaOdishaBaladevjew's temple keeps the same cycle, with the tallest chariot in the state.
Across India
- PandharpurMaharashtraAshadhi Ekadashi and the end of the Wari.
- SrirangamTamil NaduThe sleeping Vishnu of the south.
- ThiruvananthapuramKeralaPadmanabha on the serpent Ananta.