Significance and legend
Utpanna means arisen, and this Ekadashi commemorates the origin of the Ekadashi vow itself. In the Bhavishyottara Purana, Krishna tells Yudhishthira that in the Satya Yuga a fearsome demon named Mura defeated the gods and drove Indra from heaven. The gods appealed to Vishnu, who fought Mura and his armies for a thousand celestial years. Tired, Vishnu retired to rest in a cave called Simhavati in Badarikashrama. Mura followed him there and prepared to strike the sleeping Lord.
At that moment a radiant maiden, armed with divine weapons, emerged from Vishnu's body and challenged Mura. With a single sound of hum she reduced him to ashes. When Vishnu awoke and saw what had happened, he was delighted. Because she was born on the eleventh lunar day, he named her Ekadashi and granted her the boon that whoever fasted on her day would be freed from sin and attain his abode. Thus this day is considered the birth of the Ekadashi vrata.
How Utpanna Ekadashi is observed
Those who wish to begin regular Ekadashi fasting traditionally start on Utpanna Ekadashi. Observers take a single meal on Dashami, fast on Ekadashi, and worship Vishnu together with the goddess Ekadashi, offering tulsi, fruits and lamps. The story of Mura is read and the night is spent in vigil. The fast is broken on Dwadashi after sunrise within the parana period, after offering food to Vishnu and giving charity.