Nirjala means

Expressions researched:
"Nirjala means"

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Nirjala means there are many devotees who does not take even water. Water, drinking water, according to śāstra, it is taking food... It is drinking of food or no food.

Lecture on SB 1.5.1-8 -- New Vrindaban, May 23, 1969:

So, parāvare brahmaṇi dharmato vrataiḥ. So one should execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness, dharmataḥ, in right path, and vrataiḥ. Bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ. Just like today, ekādaśī-vrata. Vrataiḥ. This ekādaśī-vrata is required. Just see. Here it is that "You have performed all the vratas." The purpose of ekādaśī-vrata is that today we should not eat much usual food, grains. The actual prescription is fasting. Nirjala-ekādaśī. Nirjala means there are many devotees who does not take even water. Water, drinking water, according to śāstra, it is taking food... It is drinking of food or no food. We can take both ways. So sometimes drinking of water is excused as upavāsa also. But there are many devotees who even..., drink even a drop of water. Whole day and night they fast and observe ekādaśī-vrata. And the night is called harivāsara. Harivāsara means the whole night they would chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma... This is called vrata. Dṛḍha-vrata.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Prabhupāda: Oh yes. Ekādaśī, simply you should chant. No other business. Nirjala.

Morning Walk -- July 5, 1975, Chicago:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Sometimes we have heard that ekādaśī is a inauspicious alignment of the planets and therefore one has to counteract this inauspiciousness by more chanting.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) No, no. It is the most auspicious. And chanting is more effective. (break) Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I remember you were instructing once that all of your initiated disciples should chant twenty-five rounds...

Prabhupāda: Minimum.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Minimum on this day. Is that a rule that we should all follow in our temples?

Prabhupāda: We are sixteen rounds.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, I mean on ekādaśī.

Prabhupāda: Oh yes. Ekādaśī, simply you should chant. No other business. Nirjala.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No preaching work? Should they go out for preaching?

Prabhupāda: No, those who are preaching, not for them. Those who are sitting idle, or they... (laughter) (break) ...has no other regulation, simply preaching. A preacher is so exalted. He hasn't got to follow any regulation. But don't take it. (laughter) And actually if one is busy in preaching work, that is first-class. (break) ...not my manufactured word, my Guru Mahārāja, that the... That Mādhava Mahārāja, when he was a brahmacārī, his name was Hayagrīva. So he was to go somewhere. So but he was sick. Guru Mahārāja was informed that he was sick and "Today is ekādaśī. He cannot take his regular meals." So Guru Mahārāja said, "No. Let him take immediately meals and go."