Lamp of the Determination of Lunar Days

english

...the divisions are broad— — —are praised. Hemadri [mentions] the Ila mountain... the application is established. || 47 ||

The Determination of Overlapping Lunar Days

Thus, the determination of the years and other periods has been described. Now, the overlap Viddha: Literally "pierced"; refers to a situation where one lunar day (tithi) overlaps into the time period of another, potentially making it impure for certain rituals. of the lunar day Tithi: A lunar day in the Hindu calendar, calculated based on the angle between the sun and the moon. is stated. In that regard, the general rule of overlap according to the sage Paithinasi an ancient author of a Dharmashastra text is as follows: || 48 ||

A later lunar day is to be known as pierced original: "viddha" if it begins at sunrise and overlaps the end of the previous day by three muhurttas approx. 2 hours and 24 minutes. In such a case, no ritual actions should be performed. || 49 ||

When a lunar day lasts less than three muhurttas before reaching sunset, it should be known as overlapping with the former day. This is the settled decision. || 50 ||

Whether in the evening or in the morning, the former day is to be preferred, even if the overlap is exactly three muhurttas; this is what the teacher Madhavarya also known as Madhava or Vidyaranya, a famous 14th-century scholar and minister of the Vijayanagara Empire has said. || 51 ||

However, an overlap may also be considered to occur even with only two muhurttas approx. 1 hour and 36 minutes if it coincides with sunrise. They call this a "pierced lunar day"; Hemadri's clarification on this is brilliant. || 52 ||

Regarding fasting Upavasa: Ritual fasting, which requires strict adherence to the purity of the lunar day., one should abandon a "pierced" day even if the overlap is only for a single moment original: "kala-matra"; a very small unit of time. Even if it is only for one danda Danda: A unit of time equal to 24 minutes....