Paksha (also known as ''pakṣa''; sa, पक्ष,

Nepal Bhasa Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nep ...

: ''thwa'' and ''gа̄''; ) refers to a fortnight or a

lunar phase Concerning the lunar month of ~29.53 days as viewed from Earth, the lunar phase or Moon phase is the shape of the Moon's directly sunlit portion, which can be expressed quantitatively using areas or angles, or described qualitatively using the t ...

in a month of the

Hindu lunar calendar The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a s ...

. Literally meaning "side", a

paksha Paksha (also known as ''pakṣa''; sa, पक्ष, Nepal Bhasa: ''thwa'' and ''gа̄''; ) refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the Fu ...

is the period either side of the Full Moon Day ('' Purnima''). A lunar month in the Hindu calendar has two fortnights, and begins with the

New moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

, ('' Amavasya''). The lunar days are called '' tithis'' and 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 New Moon Day and Full Moon Day is called "Gaura Paksha" or Shukla Paksha () the period of the brightening moon ( waxing moon), and the second fortnight of the month is called "Vadhya Paksha" or Krishna Paksha (), the period of the fading moon ( waning moon).Hindu calendar
Neemuch Panchang begin new lunar month from first day of Krishna Paksha while Gujarat Panchang begin new lunar month from first day of Shukla Paksha.Moon Calendar
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Days of Shukla Paksha and Krishna Paksha

Shukla Paksha

Shukla paksha, ''thwa'' (𑐠𑑂𑐰𑑅, थ्वः) in

, refers to the bright lunar fortnight or waxing moon in the

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a s ...

. ''Shukla'' ( sa, शुक्ल) is

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

word for "white" or "bright". Shukla Paksha (Waxing Moon period) is a period of 15 days, which begins on the ''Shukla Amavasya'' (

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

) day and culminating Purnima ( Full Moon) day and is considered auspicious because it is favorable to growth or expansion on every plane of existence i.e. Mental, Physical and Spiritual Plane. Numerous festivals are held during this period, including the Navratri festivals, most importantly Chaitra Navratri and Ashvin Navratri.

Krishna Paksha

Krishna paksha, ''gа̄'' (𑐐𑐵𑑅, गाः) in

, refers to the dark lunar fortnight or waning moon in the

. ''Krishna'' ( sa, कृष्ण) is

for "dark". Krishna Paksha is a period of 15 days, which begins on the ( Full Moon) day (''Purnima''), culminating on (

) day (''Amavasya''). ''Krishna Paksha'' is considered inauspicious, as the moon loses light during this period. Festivals during Krishna Paksha are:

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.

References

* 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, .

External links

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 A stellarium is a three-dimensional map of the stars, typically centered on Earth. They are common fixtures at planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entert ...

.
Hindu Festivals Calendar 2010

Introduction to the Hindu Calendar (pdf)
{{Time measurement and standards Hindu calendar Phases of the Moon