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Generally it's seen that ekadashi or any other date for that purpose falls on two days. Normally Smartha observe say,ekadashi one day earlier than Vaishnavas. Most calendars only show Smartha dates but some show both. For instance my local calendar has two days for Janamashtmi,11 august for Smarthas and 12 august for Vaishnavas . This distinction is very acutely observed in North India even though Hindus there are not much sectarian other wise.

Why is it so?

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  • They must be following different calendars. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaurabda
    – Rickross
    Jul 25, 2020 at 11:06
  • @Rickross i don't think so. I don't think Gaurabda calendar is followed in North India.
    – RishX
    Jul 25, 2020 at 11:12
  • The Gaurabda example was given to show that some of them use a specific calendar that others don't use. When different people celebrate the same festivals on different dates then its obvious that they are all using different calendars.
    – Rickross
    Jul 25, 2020 at 11:15
  • Sometimes different dates for the same festival and same country can be the result of Surya Siddhanta vs Drik Ganita although I'm not sure if that is the true reason here.
    – Rickross
    Jul 25, 2020 at 12:49
  • @Rickross you might be right. I still couldn't find any explanation about it. youtu.be/tLTMpJAHyUM here is a video in Hindi where it is explained that this difference is due to different sampradaya and that Vaishnavas consider tithi during sunrise. So for Janamashtmi Smartha will consider ashtami at night while Vaishnavas will consider the ashtami from next morning/sunrise. It would be good if someone can verify this.
    – RishX
    Aug 1, 2020 at 7:28

1 Answer 1

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The difference in tithis(dates) is due to the difference between Vaishnavas and Smarthas. Even this year Janamashtmi is being celebrated on two separate days. Some celebrated it on 11 august while others are celebrating it today i.e 12 august.

This difference is further explained in this video(in hindi). Basically, Smarthas consider the tithi from its orignal time while Vaishnavas consider the tithi from Brahma Muhurat in morning. So if the ekadashi falls on afternoon Smarthas consider it as ekadashi while next morning is considered ekadashi by Vaishnavas. That's why this year(2020) Smarthas celebrated Janamashtmi on 11 august when Asthami started at that time,while Vaishnavas are celebrating Janamastmi today,12 august since Ashtami was the tithi on Brahma Muhurat today morning.

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