Paksha

Shukla Paksha refers to the bright lunar fortnight or waxing moon in the Hindu calendar. Shukla ({{langx|sa|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.{{Cite book |last=Rinehart |first=Robin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7abOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA125 |title=Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice |date=2004-07-21 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-57607-906-5 |pages=125 |language=en}}

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

Krishna Paksha refers to the dark lunar fortnight or waning moon in the Hindu calendar. Krishna ({{langx|sa| 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,{{Cite book |last=Iyer |first=N. P. Subramania |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_8MaBfTncgC&pg=PA79 |title=Kalaprakasika |date=1991 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=978-81-206-0252-6 |pages=79 |language=en}} as the moon loses light during this period.

Festivals during the Krishna Paksha are:

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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.

• Pitru Paksha

{{Reflist}}

• 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}}.

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROzCT3pHCjM&list=PLYNax2xNHwV2r5_Ca4JeJM2zFhvwTHRry&index=14 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.
• [http://hinduism.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/hindu_calendar.htm Hindu Festivals Calendar 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206150554/http://hinduism.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/hindu_calendar.htm |date=2016-12-06 }}
• [http://himalayanacademy.com/resources/panchangam/pancha_intro.PDF Introduction to the Hindu Calendar (pdf)]

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{{Time measurement and standards}}

Category:Hindu calendar

Category:Phases of the Moon