# 22
It’s Deva Sayana Ekadashi (Ashadi Ekadashi) today, because Lord Vishnu falls asleep for four months.Hence, this period is also known as Chaturmas. The period corresponds with the rainy season in India.

Due to the rains, the occurance of diseases is high, hence more attention needs to be paid to our health. The Holy festivals result in occasional fasts and consumption of sattvik food, in addition to a restriction on certain food items and to a certain extent on avoiding outside food. It is also said that due to lesser availability of sunlight in rainy season, lot of green leafy vegetables are not suitable to be consumed. Few segments of the society even abstain from eating root vegetables.

The festivities usually begin in Ashada month on Deva Sayana (which is today) and ends in the Kartik month on Utthana Ekadashi (Devuttani Ekadashi) eleven days after Diwali.

Lot of devotees go walking to Pandharpur, famous pilgrimage of Maharastra, chanting hymns of Saint Tukaram and Saint Dnyaneshwar for darshan of God Vithal. Numerous palkis from different villages and towns join the main palki that starts from Dehu, in Pune district to reach Vithoba Temple today on the ausipicious day of Ashadi Ekadashi.

As I am back from temple after archana, in pure banarasi silk saree with velvet border, admiring my 6 yards and remembering my last visit to Pandharpur few months back where I did darshan of Vithoba and Rukmini.