Amanta and Purnimanta
Why can a fortnight have two month names?
Amanta months start after the new Moon, Purnimanta months after the full Moon. See why the waxing half keeps one name and the waning half takes two.
01 · Two places to start a month
Shukla halves share a name in both counts; Krishna halves do not.
An Amanta month starts after the new Moon, a Purnimanta month after the full Moon. Both name a month by the same rule, so every Shukla Paksha carries the same name in both. Every Krishna Paksha belongs to the month before in one count and the month after in the other.
Two starting points
A lunar month can be counted from either end of the Moon’s cycle:
- Amanta (अमान्त, “ending at Amavasya”): the month runs from just after one new Moon to the next new Moon. Much of western and southern India uses it.
- Purnimanta (पूर्णिमान्त, “ending at Purnima”): the month runs from just after one full Moon to the next. Much of northern India uses it.
Both name the month by the same rule, from the Sankranti that falls in it, and both agree on which new Moon and full Moon belong to which name. They differ only in where the month starts, which shifts the boundary by half a month.
Which half carries which name
Each lunar cycle has a waxing half, Shukla Paksha, and a waning half, Krishna Paksha, as how the two pakshas divide the month shows.
- A Shukla Paksha lies inside the same month in both counts, so it has the same name in both.
- A Krishna Paksha ends an Amanta month but begins a Purnimanta month, so it takes the Amanta month’s name in one count and the next month’s name in the other.
The waning fortnight from 26 October to 9 November 2026 is an example. In the Amanta count it is the second half of Ashwin, so its days are Ashwin Krishna. In the Purnimanta count it is the first half of Kartika, so the same days are Kartika Krishna. The Amavasya at its end, Diwali’s, is Ashwin Amavasya to one calendar and Kartika Amavasya to the other.
Nothing changes but the label
The tithis, the times and the festivals are identical in both counts. A festival on Kartika Krishna Ashtami in a Purnimanta calendar is the same day as Ashwin Krishna Ashtami in an Amanta one. Only the month word differs, which is why a festival’s month is worth checking against the counting system before comparing two calendars.
An extra month keeps one name through both halves in both counts, an exception the lunar month guide describes. The site shows the Amanta name, with the Purnimanta name beside it during Krishna Paksha.
See today’s month in both counts on the Delhi Panchang, or explore another topic in Learn.