Paksha

Paksha (Sanskrit: पक्ष, romanized: pakṣa) refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar.[1][2]

See also: Astronomical basis of the Hindu calendar
This article is about the lunar phase in the Hindu calendar. For the Slavic festive dish, see paskha.
Not to be confused with Paska.

Literally meaning "side",[3] a paksha is the period either side of the purnima (full moon day). A lunar month in the Hindu calendar has two fortnights, and begins with the amavasya (new moon). The lunar days are called tithis; each month has 30 tithis, which may vary from 20 – 27 hours. A paksha has 15 tithis, which are calculated by a 12 degree motion of the moon. The first fortnight between the new moon day and the full moon day is called the Gaura Paksha or Shukla Paksha (lit. 'white/bright/golden side'), the period of the brightening moon (waxing moon), and the second fortnight of the month is called the Vadhya Paksha or Krishna Paksha (lit. 'dark/black side'), the period of the fading moon (waning moon).[1][4] The Neemuch calendar begin a new lunar month from first day of Krishna Paksha, while the Gujarat calendar begins a new lunar month from the first day of Shukla Paksha.

Days of Shukla Paksha and Krishna Paksha
Shukla Paksha Krishna Paksha
1. Prathama 1. Prathama
2. Dvitiya 2. Dvitiya
3. Tritiya 3. Tritiya
4. Chaturthi 4. Chaturthi
5. Panchami 5. Panchami
6. Shashti 6. Shashti
7. Saptami 7. Saptami
8. Ashtami 8. Ashtami
9. Navami 9. Navami
10. Dashami 10. Dashami
11. Ekadashi 11. Ekadashi
12. Dwadashi 12. Dwadashi
13. Thrayodashi 13. Thrayodashi
14. Chaturdashi 14. Chaturdashi
15. Purnima 15. Amavasya, Ausi

Shukla Paksha

Shukla Paksha refers to the bright lunar fortnight or waxing moon in the Hindu calendar. Shukla (Sanskrit: शुक्ल) is a Sanskrit word for "white" or "bright". The Shukla Paksha is a period of 15 days, which begins after the amavasya (new moon) day and culminating on purnima (full moon) day and is considered auspicious.[5]

Numerous festivals are held during this period, including the Navaratri festivals, most importantly Chaitra Navaratri and Ashvin Navaratri.

Day Tithi Festival Month
1st day Pratipada Gudi Padwa, Ugadi Chaitra
1st day Pratipada Bali Pratipada, Govardhan Puja Kartika
2nd day Dvitiya Bhaibeej Kartika
3rd day Tritiya Teej Bhadrapada
3rd day Tritiya Akshaya Tritiya Vaishakha
4th day Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi Bhadrapada
4th day Chaturthi Ganesh Jayanti Magha
5th day Panchami Nuakhai Bhadrapada
5th day Panchami Vivaha Panchami Margashirsha
5th day Panchami Vasanta Panchami Magha
6th day Shasthi Sitalsasthi Jyestha
8th day Ashtami Radhashtami Bhadrapada
9th day Navami Rama Navami Chaitra
10th day Dashami Vijayadashami Ashvin
11th day Ekadashi Shayani Ekadashi Ashadha
11th day Ekadashi Vaikuntha Ekadashi Margashirsha
14th day Chaturdashi Samvatsari Bhadrapada
15th day (full moon) Purnima Guru Purnima Ashada

Krishna Paksha

Krishna Paksha refers to the dark lunar fortnight or waning moon in the Hindu calendar. Krishna (Sanskrit: कृष्ण) is a Sanskrit word for "dark". Krishna Paksha is a period of 15 days, which begins after purnima day (full moon), culminating on the amavasya (new moon). Krishna Paksha is considered inauspicious,[6] as the moon loses light during this period.

Festivals during the Krishna Paksha are:

Day Tithi Festival Month
4th day Chaturthi Karva Chauth Kartika
8th day Ashtami Krishna Janmashtami Shravana
13th day Thrayodashi Dhanteras Kartika
13th day Thrayodashi Pradosha Magha
14th day Chaturdashi Maha Shivaratri Magha
14th day Chaturdashi Naraka Chaturdashi (Diwali) Kartika
15th day (no moon) Amavasya Lakshmi Puja (Diwali) Kartika

Other usages

In Vedic astrology when a person does a prasna (a question chart) and the planet Venus indicates the time period, the event referred to in the answer will happen in a pakṣa (fortnight) from the time the question was asked.

See also

References
  1. Defouw, Hart; Robert Svoboda (2003). Light on Life: An Introduction to the Astrology of India. Lotus Press. p. 186. ISBN 0-940985-69-1.
  2. Kumar, Ashwini (2005). Vaastu: The Art And Science Of Living. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 50. ISBN 81-207-2569-7.
  3. Monnier-Williams, M: (1851) Sanskrit Dictionary ISBN (none)
  4. Hindu calendar Archived 2010-09-01 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Rinehart, Robin (2004-07-21). Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-57607-906-5.
  6. Iyer, N. P. Subramania (1991). Kalaprakasika. Asian Educational Services. p. 79. ISBN 978-81-206-0252-6.
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