Lamp of the Determination of Lunar Days

... [unclear] || 34 || The Fourth Day Chaturthi, except for those rituals dedicated to [the elephant-headed god] Ganesha, should not be joined with the Third Day Tritiya; nor should the following day be [always] taken. || Therefore, any other [vow or ritual] is praised only when performed on the following day and not on the preceding one; thus it has been declared. || 35 ||

Thus ends the determination of the Fourth Day. || Now begins the determination of the Fifth Day.

The Fifth Day Panchami is praised in all cases when it is joined with the Fourth Day Chaturthi In Hindu calendar logic, certain days are considered more auspicious when they begin while the previous day's influence still lingers. However, in matters of charity, religious vows vrata, and similar acts, [especially] those dedicated to the god Kumara Also known as Skanda or Kartikeya, the son of Shiva, the following day is preferred. || 36 || According to the scholar Himadri A famous 13th-century minister and author of the Chaturvarga-chintamani, a foundational text on Hindu customs, only such a Fifth Day is praised for fasting. In matters of charity during the dark fortnight the waning phase of the moon, the entirety of the day as stated in the latter portion is considered excellent. || 37 || Regarding fasting and ceremonial bathing abhisheka related to the Sixth Day, any Fifth Day [joined with it may be considered]; however, the following day is considered most praiseworthy, even without such a joining. || 38 ||

Thus ends the determination of the Fifth Day. || Now begins the determination of the Sixth Day.

The Sixth Day Shashthi that is "pierced" viddha original: "viddhā"; a technical term for a lunar day that overlaps with the timing of the previous day by the Fifth Day Panchami is to be accepted for the entirety of the Vow of Skanda Skanda-vrata. In other vows and rituals, however, being "pierced" by the Fifth The text uses the term "Naga-viddha"; because the Nagas or serpent deities preside over the 5th day, "Naga-viddha" refers to a day overlapping with the Fifth is not prescribed. || 39 || I shall now describe the "overlap" vedha by the Fifth Day, which is traditionally remembered as being [calculated] by one danda a unit of time equivalent to 24 minutes or more.