Holidays & Observances: Amalaki Ekadasi

For all the posts in this Holidays & Observances series, go here.

For prologue on Ekadasi, go to the very first post here.

Prologue: I have been meaning to write a series about Holidays and Observances that we (my family and friends) follow in both India (my birth country) and USA (my adopted country). This series is dedicated to those. On a side note, perhaps I might witness some of the celebrations from other countries as well that may get their way into this series. 🙂

The first Ekadasi that falls in the month of March is Amalaki Ekadasi on March 3rd this year (2022). It is the celebration of Amalaka or Amla Tree aka Indian Gooseberry plant. Hindus believe that Lord Vishnu resides in this tree and hence they worship it. This day also marks the beginning of the Hindu Festival of Colors – Holi. Medicinally, Indian Gooseberry is a prominent ingredient in Ayurvedic medicine.

As I mentioned in the very first Ekadasi post, if you put the religion aside, allowing your body to fast twice a month is an excellent way of cleansing and detoxifying to aid in repair and rejuvenation. Followers fast the entire day, listen to the Vrat Katha before breaking their fast.

This day I got an opportunity to visit the Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Buddha Temple located in Hacienda Heights in California. Watch this space for a detailed post on this beautiful temple coming up soon.