Amavasya: the moonless night, a quiet day of remembrance

What Amavasya is

A tithi comes from the angle between the Moon and the Sun. Once a month the Moon comes almost alongside the Sun; its lit side then faces away from us, so no Moon is seen at night. This fifteenth tithi of the Krishna paksha is Amavasya. Right after it, from Shukla Pratipada, the Moon begins to grow again.

In the amanta calendar (used in Maharashtra, Gujarat and South India) the month ends at Amavasya; in the purnimanta calendar (North India) it ends at Purnima. The Amavasya is the same; only its month name may be written differently in the two calendars.

A moonless night may sound heavy, but tradition treats it as a day of quiet remembrance: a bath, some giving, and remembering one's forebears. There is nothing to fear in it.

How the date is decided

Sometimes Amavasya runs from one sunrise to the next; sometimes it is split across two days. Which day then depends on the purpose:

• Bathing and giving (shastra, Dharmasindhu): Purnima and Amavasya, except for the Savitri vrat, are taken as the later one, i.e. the day at whose sunrise Amavasya is running.
• Tarpan for ancestors, darsha shraddha (tradition): common practice takes the day whose aparahna (the afternoon part) has the Amavasya. So a panchang may sometimes list the bathing day and the shraddha day separately.
• Somavati Amavasya (shastra, Dharmasindhu): Dharmasindhu says an Amavasya joined with Monday or Tuesday is especially sacred for bathing and giving, and that the ‘Somavati’ vrat with worship of the peepal tree is kept on a Monday Amavasya.
• Diwali's Amavasya: there Lakshmi puja is in the evening, so a separate pradosha (evening) rule applies; see the Diwali page.

The commentary on Muhurta Chintamani, listing the lords of the tithis, names the Pitrs (ancestors) as lords of Amavasya; that is where the link between Amavasya and remembering ancestors comes from.

Some special Amavasyas: tradition

Of the year's twelve or thirteen Amavasyas, some have their own names and customs, which vary by region:

• Mauni Amavasya (purnimanta Magha): many bathe in silence; pilgrimage towns like Prayag see large crowds.
• Sarva Pitru Amavasya (the last day of Pitru Paksha): a day to remember ancestors whose tithi isn't known.
• Hariyali Amavasya (purnimanta Shravana, North India) and Deep Amavasya (amanta Ashadha, Maharashtra), named by the two calendars' different month names: monsoon customs, planting trees, and cleaning and honouring lamps.
• Shani Amavasya: when it falls on a Saturday, some visit a Shani temple.

These are living folk traditions; each family follows its own, and no one is required to keep any of them.

How families observe it

In many homes, after a morning bath, a little water and sesame are offered in the ancestors' names by family custom (tarpan). Some families feed a Brahmin, a cow or someone in need; some simply light a lamp and remember their grandparents. In river towns, the Amavasya bath is an old custom.

Shraddha and tarpan are not the same in every family: some do it every Amavasya, some only in Pitru Paksha, some not at all. It is a matter of one's own wish and family custom; there is nothing to fear and nothing ‘missing’ for anyone who doesn't.

A simple puja

A simple home form, as much as you feel like and have time for:

1. A morning bath, with a few sesame seeds in the water if you like.
2. If your family has the custom, offer water and sesame in the ancestors' names; if not, just sit quietly and remember them.
3. Give as you can: grain, clothing, or a meal for someone in need. Feeding a cow or birds is also an old custom.
4. On Somavati Amavasya many women worship and walk around a peepal tree.
5. A lamp at dusk, at home or by a peepal tree.

Tradition holds that such remembrance gives the mind support and a sense of gratitude; no promise or condition comes with it.

Safety and health

River baths: bathe at the edge, away from deep water and currents. Ghats are very crowded on Mauni or Somavati Amavasya; hold the hands of children and elders. In the cold, a warm bath at home counts as complete.

Lamps: keep lamps away from curtains and clothes, keep an adult near children, and keep a bucket of water or sand nearby.

Fasting: some people fast on Amavasya. Anyone who is unwell, pregnant, diabetic or on regular medicine should choose a lighter form (fruit, milk, or one simple meal) or ask a doctor. There is no need for a waterless (nirjala) fast. For health, the doctor comes first; no vrat replaces that.

In ePandit

In ePandit: our calendar shows the festival day with your city's sunrise and sunset. The day is decided once, for Ujjain; your city's times are shown separately. We don't compute muhurta yet, and we never call a festival good or bad for anyone.

Frequently asked questions