Paksha

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.

Fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar

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

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 purnima (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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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 | Bhadrapada
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

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

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

[edit]

* Pitru Paksha

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b 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.

* K. V. Sarma (2008), "Paksa", Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures (2nd edition) edited by Helaine Selin, Springer, ISBN 978-1-4020-4559-2.

## External links

[edit]

* Ahargana - The Astronomy of the Hindu Calendar: Maana, Krishna Pksha, Shukla Paksha and Chandra Masa Explains Krishna paksha and Shukla paksha by means of astronomical simulations created using Stellarium.
* Hindu Festivals Calendar 2010 Archived 2016-12-06 at the Wayback Machine
* Introduction to the Hindu Calendar (pdf)

* v
* t
* e

Days of the Paksha

1. Prathama
2. Dvitiya
3. Tritiya
4. Chaturthi
5. Panchami
6. Shashthi
7. Saptami
8. Ashtami
9. Navami
10. Dashami
11. Ekadashi
12. Dvadashi
13. Trayodashi
14. Chaturdashi
15. Purnima / Amavasya

* v
* t
* e

Time measurement and standards

* Chronometry
* Orders of magnitude
* Metrology

International standards|

* Coordinated Universal Time
* offset
* UT
* ΔT
* DUT1
* International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service
* ISO 31-1
* ISO 8601
* International Atomic Time
* 12-hour clock
* 24-hour clock
* Barycentric Coordinate Time
* Barycentric Dynamical Time
* Civil time
* Daylight saving time
* Geocentric Coordinate Time
* International Date Line
* IERS Reference Meridian
* Leap second
* Solar time
* Terrestrial Time
* Time zone
* 180th meridian

Obsolete standards|

* Ephemeris time
* Greenwich Mean Time
* Prime meridian

Time in physics|

* Absolute space and time
* Spacetime
* Chronon
* Continuous signal
* Coordinate time
* Cosmological decade
* Discrete time and continuous time
* Proper time
* Theory of relativity
* Time dilation
* Gravitational time dilation
* Time domain
* Time-translation symmetry
* T-symmetry

Horology|

* Clock
* Astrarium
* Atomic clock
* Complication
* History of timekeeping devices
* Hourglass
* Marine chronometer
* Marine sandglass
* Radio clock
* Watch
* stopwatch
* Water clock
* Sundial
* Dialing scales
* Equation of time
* History of sundials
* Sundial markup schema

Calendar|

* Gregorian
* Hebrew
* Hindu
* Holocene
* Islamic (lunar Hijri)
* Julian
* Solar Hijri
* Astronomical
* Dominical letter
* Epact
* Equinox
* Intercalation
* Julian day
* Leap year
* Lunar
* Lunisolar
* Solar
* Solstice
* Tropical year
* Weekday determination
* Weekday names

Archaeology and geology|

* Chronological dating
* Geologic time scale
* International Commission on Stratigraphy

Astronomical chronology|

* Galactic year
* Nuclear timescale
* Precession
* Sidereal time

Other units of time|

* Instant
* Flick
* Shake
* Jiffy
* Second
* Minute
* Moment
* Hour
* Day
* Week
* Fortnight
* Month
* Year
* Olympiad
* Lustrum
* Decade
* Century
* Saeculum
* Millennium

Related topics|

* Chronology
* Duration
* music
* Mental chronometry
* Decimal time
* Metric time
* System time
* Time metrology
* Time value of money
* Timekeeper

*[lit.]: literal translation
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template