Parivartini (Jalzilani) Ekadashi
What it is
Parivartini Ekadashi falls on Bhadarva Sud Agiyaras, midway through Chaturmas. As the Lord rests in yoga-nidra upon Sheshnag in the Kshirsagar, on this tithi He turns from one side to the other — parivartan — which is why it is also called Parsva Ekadashi. It is Vaman Ekadashi too, honouring Shri Vamanji, the Lord's dwarf avatar who measured the three worlds at the house of Bali; Vaman Jayanti follows on the very next day, Bhadarva Sud Baras.
In Gujarat and Rajasthan the day is beloved as Jal Jhilani (Jalzilani) Agiyaras. Tradition remembers that on this tithi Shri Krishna sported on the Yamuna in a boat with the gopas and gopis — nauka vihar — and so deities are taken in procession to a river, lake or temple tank and gently rocked upon the water in decorated boats. The monsoon-full waters themselves become the utsav. In the Pushtimarg haveli tradition this becomes a cherished manorath: Shri Thakorji is given jal-vihar, seated in a naav amid the water, while kirtans of the Yamuna leela are sung. Beholding the Lord's boat festival is praised as bestowing great phal.
Why we observe it
The Lord's turning in His sleep is read by devotees with a smile: even in rest He moves — and He moves towards us. Falling at the midpoint of Chaturmas, Parivartini invites our own parivartan: the niyam taken on Devshayani is inspected and renewed, the half-hearted vrat turned wholehearted. Vamanji's presence deepens the lesson — the Lord who covered the universe in three steps asks not for grandeur but for the small space of a surrendered heart, as He asked of Bali.
The Jal Jhilani bhav is pure Pushtimarg sweetness: Prabhu is not worshipped from afar but taken to the water to play, as a family takes its darling child. Watching Thakorji sway in His naav on the swollen monsoon waters, the Vaishnav offers a silent prayer — my life too is a boat on deep waters; You hold the oar. Whatever turns, whatever rocks, the boat that carries Him cannot sink. The shastras promise liberation to one who beholds and remembers this utsav; the pushti heart asks less and receives more — the joy of His leela, which is itself the fruit.