Paksha

Paksha (Pakṣa) — half of the lunar month. The name comes from the Sanskrit "paksha" — "wing," "side." The lunar month divides into two pakshas: the bright (shukla) and the dark (krishna). Paksha is not one of the five angas of the panchanga — it is derived from the tithi and sets the frame within which tithis are counted.

Place in the system

The panchanga describes the state of the sky. In the amanta reckoning (south India) the month begins with Shukla Pratipada after Amavasya (new moon), runs through the bright half to Purnima (full moon), then Krishna Pratipada opens the dark half back to the next Amavasya. In the purnimanta reckoning (north India) the month ends not with Amavasya but with Purnima: it opens with Krishna Pratipada after the preceding Purnima, so the dark half runs before the bright half in it — the sequence of pakshas itself does not change, only which paksha opens the month's count.

Paksha is not simply "half a month." It is a time of a different quality: shukla paksha is held favourable for most worldly undertakings, krishna paksha for endings and offerings to ancestors.

Practical meaning

Paksha is the basic background of every day. Knowing which paksha you are in lets you plan things appropriately.

The paksha background works through direction. Shukla is rising, growing; krishna is descending, contracting.

In Indian folk practice many rites are tied to a particular paksha. For instance, ekadashi occurs in both pakshas, but its character differs.

In daily practice

Paksha is a constant background. Look at which paksha today is in: if in shukla — this is a "day of growth," good for starting and building up; if in krishna — a "day of contraction," good for finishing and clearing.

Knowing the paksha also suits planning life's rhythm: shukla suits the new, krishna suits completion.

Knowing the paksha also suits spiritual practice: fasting and meditation strengthen in shukla, deepen in krishna.

How much your particular day within the paksha matches your life is refined by Tara Bala from your birth nakshatra to the day's nakshatra. Paksha sets the general lunar background, and the personal layer adds daily precision to it.

Further notes

Paksha sets the numbering of tithis within the month: each paksha has its own count from the first (pratipada) to the fourteenth (chaturdashi), and the paksha closes with the fifteenth — Purnima in shukla or Amavasya in krishna. This is why the same tithi number — say, dwadashi, the twelfth — exists in both pakshas as different days: shukla dwadashi and krishna dwadashi. Without stating the paksha, a tithi number does not identify a date uniquely.