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Paksha

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]apaksha 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 PakshaorShukla 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 PakshaorKrishna 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[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.

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:

Other usages[edit]

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InVedic 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]

• 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)