Tholi Ekadasi (Shayana Ekadasi)

Introduction

Tholi Ekadasi – tholi means "first" in Telugu – falls on Ashadha Shukla Ekadasi, usually in late June or July. It is also called Shayana Ekadasi, Devashayani Ekadasi and Padma Ekadasi, and in Maharashtra it is the Ashadhi Ekadashi of the Pandharpur pilgrimage. Traditionally counted as the first of the year's great Ekadasis, it marks the beginning of Chaturmasya, the four sacred months of the monsoon. In the Telugu lands it is also fondly called the Pelala Panduga, after the Pelala Pindi offered on this day.

Significance and Legend

According to tradition, on this day Lord Vishnu begins his yoga nidra – his divine, watchful sleep – on Adisesha in the Ocean of Milk, and wakes four months later on Karthika Shukla Ekadasi (Utthana or Prabodhini Ekadasi). The Puranas tell how the goddess Ekadasi arose from the Lord to defeat the demon Mura, and how King Mandhata observed this vow during a terrible famine, after which the rains returned and the land prospered. The Ekadasi fast is seen as the control of the eleven senses – the five of knowledge, the five of action and the mind – and as an offering of the whole self to Lord Vishnu.

How it is Celebrated in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

• Fasting: many devotees keep a full fast on Ekadasi, some with a night-long vigil (jagarana), and break the fast on Dwadashi morning after worship.
• Temple visits: Vishnu temples are crowded from the early morning – at Yadadri a Laksha Pushparchana is offered by tradition, and Bhadrachalam and Birla Mandir in Hyderabad see a steady stream of devotees through the day.
• Pelala Pindi: homes prepare and offer this simple sweet and share it with family and neighbours.
• Chaturmasya begins: those who take the Chaturmasya vow follow simple food rules, avoid travel and keep a disciplined life for four months. Monks and spiritual heads traditionally stay in one place through Chaturmasya, and many women begin the Gopadma vratam, which is kept through the same period.

Rituals and Puja

• An early bath, then worship of Lord Vishnu with tulasi leaves, flowers and lamps.
• Recitation of the Vishnu Sahasranama and the Lord's names; listening to the Ekadasi story.
• A full or partial fast through the day, with the fast broken after puja on Dwadashi.

Foods and Offerings

• Pelala Pindi – popped jowar (jonna pelalu) pounded together with jaggery – offered to the Lord and shared as prasadam. Tradition holds that pelalu are dear to the ancestors (pitrus), and that this sweet keeps the body warm as the rainy season begins.
• Tulasi leaves, flowers and fruits for the Lord.
• Simple satvik food on Dwadashi to break the fast.

Temples Known for this Festival

• Yadadri Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam – Laksha Pushparchana (worship with one lakh flowers) offered by tradition, along with the Sudarshana Narasimha Homam; very heavy crowds.
• Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple, Bhadrachalam – a steady flow of devotees from morning to evening, with special queue lines.
• Birla Mandir, Hyderabad – prayers from the early morning and thousands of devotees in the queue, with the temple kept open late into the night.

Four months later, Lord Vishnu's awakening on Karthika Shukla Ekadasi falls in the holy month of Karthika – see Karthika Masam.

The Tholi Ekadasi date is shown in the festival dates above. It falls on Ashadha Shukla Ekadasi as per the Telugu panchang.