fasts and vrats
What is Nirjala fasting and what are its health risks?
What nirjala means
Nirjala means without water. A nirjala fast is a full day or more without food or drink. The most famous is Nirjala Ekadashi, a day of fasting that falls once a year in the Hindu calendar. The Mahabharata tells of Bhishma teaching Yudhishthira about this fast as a way to honor the divine and purify the soul. It is seen as one of the hardest vrats, and also one of the most spiritually powerful in the tradition's view.
What the texts say about who should do it
The old texts do not say everyone must do a nirjala fast. They recognize it is very difficult. For people who are sick, elderly, very young, or weak, the texts offer other ways to fast. Someone can eat fruit, milk, or light foods instead. A person can drink water and skip solid food. These are called phalahar or partial fasts. The tradition sees the spirit of the fast as what matters most—the intention to honor and turn inward—not the strictness of the rules. So the texts themselves build in room for people to adapt.
Ayurvedic thought on fasting
Ayurveda sees the body as made of different types, each with its own constitution, called prakriti. Fasting affects each type differently. Some bodies can handle a strict fast better than others. Ayurveda also teaches that digestion and strength change with the seasons and with age. So a nirjala fast might suit one person at one time but not another. The tradition of fasting in Hindu life sits alongside this older medical knowledge that bodies are not all the same.
What modern medicine says
A full day without food or water carries real risks. Dehydration can happen quickly and cause dizziness, weakness, headache, and in severe cases, organ stress. People with diabetes, heart trouble, kidney disease, or who take certain medicines should not fast this way without medical advice. Even healthy people can feel unwell. There is no strong evidence that a nirjala fast has special health benefits. Modern medicine sees it as a spiritual or cultural choice, not a health practice.
How people approach it today
Many people who value the tradition choose a gentler fast—eating fruit, having milk, or drinking water—rather than a strict nirjala. Others do nirjala once a year on the appointed day and find it meaningful. Some skip it altogether and feel no conflict with their faith. The choice is personal. What matters to most families is that the fast is done with respect and awareness, not that it follows the hardest form. People living far from their home community sometimes adapt the practice to fit their life and health.