Lamp of the Determination of Lunar Days

Lunar Day
9
10 Determination of the [Drahyayana?] At the very beginning of the Lunar Day Tithi original: "tithi"; a lunar day, roughly 1/30th of a lunar month, the fast for the Second Lunar Day Dvitiya is prescribed. || 16 ||

It is clearly stated by the sage Vyasa that if the phase does not prevail at that time, even a minute portion original: "kalā"; a small unit of time equivalent to approximately 1.6 minutes of the first part is recommended for the Brahma-fast Brahma-upavasa, as instructed by the sages. || 17 ||

Tattva-nirnaya For rituals such as the Single-Meal Fast Eka-bhakta original: "eka-bhakta"; a ritual discipline of eating only one meal a day, usually in the afternoon and others, the Second Lunar Day is joined with the First Lunar Day Pratipada. This is due to the absence of specific contradictory injunctions. || 18 ||

The Second Lunar Day occurring in the Bright Fortnight Shukla-paksha original: "śuklapakṣa"; the waxing phase of the moon should be observed when joined with the preceding day. However, in the Dark Fortnight Krishna-paksha original: "kṛṣṇā"; the waning phase of the moon, it should be observed when joined with the following day; this is the collection of rulings by Hemadri original: "hemādri-sañcaya"; refers to the Chaturvarga Chintamani, a massive 13th-century encyclopedia of Hindu rituals. || 19 ||

For rituals of giving Dana and vows Vrata, the Second Lunar Day of the dark fortnight is better when overlapping with the previous day. Even there, it is most auspicious when joined with the later part, as stated by Hemadri to be free from faults. || 20 ||

For the Single-Meal Fast and similar rites, the Second Lunar Day is always regarded as being like the First Lunar Day. If the phase covers the required time on both days, there is no uncertainty regarding its observance. || 21 ||