Worship of Lord Vishnu as Padmanabha; auspicious Vaishnava day

Padmanabha Dwadashi is observed on Ashwin Shukla Dwadashi, the day after Papankusha Ekadashi, in honour of Lord Vishnu as Padmanabha — the Lord from whose navel (nabha) the lotus (padma) springs, bearing Brahma the creator. In this form Vishnu reclines on the serpent Ananta in the cosmic ocean between cycles of creation, the source from which all worlds arise. The day is closely linked with the famous Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, where the Lord lies in this very posture, seen through three doors, and whose festivals follow the Padmanabha tradition. For those who kept the Ekadashi fast, Dwadashi is the day of parana, and worshipping Padmanabha before breaking the fast completes the vrat. Devotees bathe early, worship Vishnu with lotuses, tulsi and yellow cloth, recite the Vishnu Sahasranama or the Padmanabha stotras, and give food and daan. The Varaha Purana describes the Dwadashi vratas of each month dedicated to a different form of Vishnu, and Ashwin's is Padmanabha, whose worship is said to grant prosperity, a place in Vishnu's abode and relief from sorrow.

Those who kept the Ekadashi fast break it today within the parana window.