Amavasya

Amavasya

“new moon”

In Sanskrit, "amā" means "together", and "vāsya" means "to live, dwell". There is also an interpretation that "a" means negation, "ma" – the Moon, "asya" – there, i.e. it means the absence of the Moon in the sky.

Amavasya is the 30th lunar tithi, considered auspicious for ancestor veneration, fasting and spiritual practices and unfavorable for everything else, this day is often a day off for Hindus.

Amavasya, which falls on Monday, is considered special: fasting brings the fulfillment of all desires, as well as bestows offspring and family life.

In the Amanta system, at the moment when the Moon joins the Sun, amavasya ends, and the shukla-paksha of the next lunar month begins, while in the more common Purnimanta system, the next month begins on the day after Purnima, which starts immediately when reaching an angle of 180 degrees between the Sun and the Moon.

A particularly close conjunction of the Moon and the Sun in amavasya leads to solar eclipses.