What to do and what not to do on Ekadashi?

1. Avoid using wooden toothbrushes or toothpaste on Ekadashi. Chew lemon, blackberry, or mango leaves and clean your throat with your finger. Plucking leaves from trees is also prohibited; consume only those that have fallen.

2. After bathing, recite the Gita and the Vishnu Sahasranama.

Reciting the Vishnu Sahasranama on every Ekadashi day maintains peace and happiness in the home.

Ram Rameti Rameti Rame Rame Manorame.
Sahasranaam Tattulyam Ramanaam Varanne.

Reciting this mantra on Ekadashi day gives the same merit as chanting Shri Vishnu Sahasranama.

3. ‘Om Namo Bhagwate Vasudevaya’, this twelve letter mantra or Gurumantra should be chanted.

4. One should not talk to a thief, a hypocrite or a wicked person, remain silent as much as possible.

5. On Ekadashi, you should never eat rice, nor should you feed it to anyone. It is beneficial to eat fruits, homemade fruit juice, milk, or water on this day.

6. During the three days of the fast (Dashami, Ekadashi and Dwadashi) – do not consume bronze utensils, meat, onion, garlic, lentils, black gram, gram, kodo (a type of rice), vegetables, honey, oil and excessive drinking of water.

7. A fruitarian should avoid cabbage, carrots, turnips, spinach, purslane, etc. They should consume nectar fruits like mango, grapes, bananas, almonds, pistachios, etc.

8. One should stay completely away from gambling, sleep, betel leaf, backbiting, gossiping, theft, violence, sex, anger, lying, deceit and other evil deeds.

9. If by mistake you talk to a slanderer, then to remove this sin, you should seek forgiveness by seeing Lord Sun and worshipping Lord Hari with incense and lamp.

10. Do not sweep the house on Ekadashi. This can cause the death of microscopic creatures like ants.

11. Do not cut hair on this day.

12. On this day, donate food as per your capacity but never accept food given by anyone.

13. On the night of Ekadashi, one should keep a vigil in front of Lord Vishnu (vigil till 1 am).

14. The virtue of one who lights a lamp at night while keeping vigil near Shri Hari does not get destroyed even in a hundred Kalpas.

The person observing the fast in this manner gets the best results.