Krishnapaksha, Kṛṣṇapakṣa, Krishna-paksha: 19 definitions
Introduction:
Krishnapaksha means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
The Sanskrit term Kṛṣṇapakṣa can be transliterated into English as Krsnapaksa or Krishnapaksha, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
In Hinduism
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष) refers to the “dark fortnight”. It is a lunar phase counting 15 tithis and starting on the day after purṇimā (full-moon) and ending on amāvāsya (new moon day), after which the śuklapakṣa (bright fortnight) starts again. The term is used throughout Jyotiṣa literature.
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष) refers to the “waning period” (of the moon), according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 4), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “If the disc of the moon that regularly waxes and wanes should appear white resembling the colour of the Kumuda flower or that of the stem of the lotus or if the moon’s course or disc or rays should suffer no irregular change there will be prosperity in the land. During the waxing moon, the Brāhmins, the Kṣatriyas and mankind at large will prosper; and during the waning moon [i.e., kṛṣṇapakṣa—pakṣe ... kṛṣṇe], they will suffer miseries. The increase of prosperity will commence after the new-moon and of adversity after the full moon”.
Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
1a) Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष).—The day for the Pitṛs.*
- * Vāyu-purāṇa 52. 37; 57. 9; 83. 80.
1b) A śakti.*
- * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 32. 15.
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष) refers to the “dark lunar fortnight”, according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā. Accordingly, “In the beginning of the dark lunar fortnight [i.e., kṛṣṇapakṣa-ādikāla] during the Age of Strife, there in the beginning was Kāmarūpa, the principle of the Yoni whose nature is the Void. That divine (place), endowed with the energy of passion, is attended (by many beings). The Atharvaveda is loudly sung (there) composed with the best of musical sounds. I salute that Lord (of this seat)”.
Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.
General definition (in Hinduism)
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष) or Vadyapakṣa refers to the dark half of a month.—A month is divided into a bright half (śukla-pakṣa) when the moon waxes and a dark half (kṛṣṇa/vadya-pakṣa) when the moon wanes. Either half consists of fifteen lunar days (tithi) of which the full moon day (paurṇimā) and the new moon day (amavāsya) are very important.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष) refers to one of the male Vidyā-beings mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Kṛṣṇapakṣa).
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष).—m (S) The dark half of the month; the fortnight of the waning moon. 2 fig. Decline, decrease, diminution, wane. 3 The faulty side or party. See under śuklapakṣa.
kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष).—m The dark half of the month. The faulty side. Decline, wane.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष).—
1) the dark half of a lunar month; रावणेन हृता सीता कृष्णपक्षेऽ- सिताष्टमी (rāvaṇena hṛtā sītā kṛṣṇapakṣe'- sitāṣṭamī) Mahān.
2) an epithet of Arjuna;
Derivable forms: kṛṣṇapakṣaḥ (कृष्णपक्षः).
Kṛṣṇapakṣa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms kṛṣṇa and pakṣa (पक्ष).
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष).—see s.v. śukla-pakṣa.
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष).—m.
(-kṣaḥ) The dark half of a month, the fifteen days during which the moon is in the wane. E. kṛṣṇa dark, and pakṣa fortnight or half month.
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष).—m. the dark half of the month, the fifteen days during which the moon is in the wane, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 3, 276.
Kṛṣṇapakṣa is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms kṛṣṇa and pakṣa (पक्ष).
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष).—[masculine] = kṛṣṇa (±pakṣa).
1) Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष):—[=kṛṣṇa-pakṣa] [from kṛṣṇa] m. the dark half of a month (fifteen days during which the moon is on the wane, time from full to new moon), [Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtra xv; Āśvalāyana-gṛhya-sūtra iv, 5; Manu-smṛti; Yājñavalkya] etc.
2) [v.s. ...] ‘standing on the side of Kṛṣṇa’, Name of Arjuna, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (कृष्णपक्ष):—[kṛṣṇa-pakṣa] (kṣaḥ) 1. m. The dark half of the moon, the wane.
[Sanskrit to German]
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Kannada-English dictionary
Kṛṣṇapakṣa (ಕೃಷ್ಣಪಕ್ಷ):—[noun] the second fortnight of any lunar month, during which the visible face of the moon gradually gets reduced to a thin crescent; the period of fifteen days from the day next to the full moon day to the new moon day.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa (कृष्ण-पक्ष):—n. the `dark half` of lunar month; period of waning moon;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Paksha, Krishna.
Starts with: Krishnapakshashuklapaksha.
Full-text (+17): Paksha, Hei fen, Shuklapaksha, Hei yue, Candramandala, Tithi, Bai yue, Pakshiya, Krishna-paksh, Bahvika, Gokulashtami, Avidhavanavami, Somada, Dhumaka, Svadhamrita, Khataka, Pakshin, Divakirtya, Aparapaksha, Ahoratra.
Relevant text
Search found 45 books and stories containing Krishnapaksha, Krishna-paksha, Krsna-paksa, Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa, Kṛṣṇa-paksha, Krsna-paksha, Kṛṣṇapakṣa, Krsnapaksa, Kṛṣṇapaksha, Krsnapaksha; (plurals include: Krishnapakshas, pakshas, paksas, pakṣas, Kṛṣṇapakṣas, Krsnapaksas, Kṛṣṇapakshas, Krsnapakshas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Significance of the Moon in Ancient Civilizations (by Radhakrishnan. P)
2. Differentiation of Paksha Bala < [Chapter 6 - Relevance of Astrology]
6. Pratyusha Banerjee Sucide Case < [Chapter 14 - Case Studies of Natal Chart]
7. Sixteen Holi Kalas—Amrita Yoga Table < [Chapter 10 - Analysis of the Data]
Journal of Ayurveda and Integrated Medical Sciences
Mystical Insights into Amrithakala and Visha Kala - A conceptual study w.s.r.... < [Vol. 10 No. 1 (2025)]
Role and rationale of Kaala in the field of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutics - A... < [Vol. 2 No. 04 (2017)]
Critical study of word Kaala and its importance in Ayurveda < [Vol. 8 No. 5 (2023)]
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 350 < [Gujarati-Hindi-English, Volume 3]
Page 445 < [Bengali-Hindi-English, Volume 1]
Page 286 < [Hindi-Kannada-English Volume 2]
Studies in Indian Literary History (by P. K. Gode)
27. The Date of the Advaitabrahmasiddhi of Sadananda Kasmiraka < [Volume 2 (1954)]
16. The Chronology of the Works of Mahidhara < [Volume 2 (1954)]
57. The identity of Vanchesvara alias Kutti Kavi < [Volume 2 (1954)]
Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara (Study) (by Debabrata Barai)
Part 7.9 - Poetic conventions regarding to the Moonlight < [Chapter 5 - Analyasis and Interpretations of the Kāvyamīmāṃsā]
Part 8.8 - Region of Madhyadeśa (central part) < [Chapter 5 - Analyasis and Interpretations of the Kāvyamīmāṃsā]
Temple worship and Rituals as per Shaiva Agamas (by Gayathri Balasubramanian)
Part 5.6 - The Shivratri Puja festival < [Chapter 3 - Temple Rituals]
Appendix 1 - Glossary of Words in Sanskrit
Part 1.1 - The ritual of Ankurarpana (Sprouting of seeds) < [Chapter 3 - Temple Rituals]