Amavasya Tithi: The New Moon Day and the Remembrance of Ancestors

Amavasya is the new Moon day, the thirtieth and last tithi of the lunar month in the amanta reckoning. It ends at the moment when the Moon is again in line with the Sun, and the Moon, lying between the Earth and the Sun with its lit side turned away, is not seen. The name is generally explained as the day on which the Sun and Moon dwell together.

It comes once a month and has a double character in tradition. It is the day of remembering ancestors, with water and food offered in their memory, and it is also the dark night on which one of the most joyful festivals of the year, Diwali, is kept. Both are real, and both are explained below. The calculated Amavasya dates for 49 cities and the tables are on the Amavasya festival page, and they are not repeated here.

The tithi at a glance

Group and deity

Amavasya is the last of the Purna group, with Panchami and Dashami, as the closing tithi of the dark half. Purna means complete, and the idea is that the cycle is completed. Muhurat texts nevertheless treat Amavasya with caution for new ceremonies, which is explained below.

A common list names the Pitris, the ancestors, as the deity of Amavasya, and that is the tithi on which families offer water with sesame, food, and a prayer in their memory, a practice called tarpana or shraddha depending on its form. Other lists give other names, and some local traditions connect the dark night with the goddess in her Kali form. Your family’s custom comes first.

Festivals and observances on Amavasya

Diwali falls on the Amavasya of Kartika in the purnimanta calendar and Ashvin in the amanta, and the Lakshmi puja is done in the evening of that day, as set out in Diwali Lakshmi Puja and on the Diwali page. It is the clearest case of a joyful festival placed on the darkest night, and the lamps of Diwali are lit for exactly that reason.

Mahalaya Amavasya, also called Sarvapitri Amavasya, closes Pitru Paksha, the fortnight of remembering ancestors, and is the day on which those whose death date is not known are remembered, and the day that opens the Durga Puja season in Bengal. Somvati Amavasya is an Amavasya that falls on a Monday and is kept with a fast and a worship of Shiva, with the steps in Somvar Vrat Vidhi. Shani Amavasya falls on a Saturday and is marked with worship of Shani, described in Shani Puja on Saturday.

Mauni Amavasya falls on Magha Amavasya and is kept with a day of silence and a holy bath, especially at Prayagraj. Hariyali Amavasya is the Shravana one, a monsoon festival in parts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The monthly Darsha Amavasya is the day for ancestors, and each month has its own name for it.

Why there is no Shukla Amavasya

Amavasya belongs only to Krishna paksha. The bright fortnight ends in Purnima, and the dark fortnight ends in Amavasya, so each lunar month has one of each. If you want the other half of the pair, the page on Purnima describes the full Moon.

In the amanta reckoning the month ends on Amavasya, and in the purnimanta reckoning it ends on Purnima, so the Amavasya falls at the end of the month in the first and in the middle in the second. That is why the same Amavasya has different month names in different regional calendars, as explained on the page about amanta and purnimanta.

What muhurat practice says

Amavasya is generally avoided for new beginnings: a marriage, a housewarming, buying a vehicle, starting a business, and the early ceremonies of a child are not normally scheduled on the new Moon day. The reason usually given is that the Moon, which tradition links with the mind, is not visible, and the day is given over to ancestors.

There are exceptions in the calendar that follow from its own logic. Diwali on Amavasya is a festival of the Lakshmi puja in the evening, and the day is treated as auspicious for that purpose, with many shops opening their new account books. Beyond that, the tithi is mostly kept for remembrance, charity and the evening lamp.

The weekday, nakshatra and individual charts count in any choice. Your astrologer can confirm a chosen date against the charts, and the muhurat section explains the wider method.

A simple way to observe the day

A simple Amavasya observance is to rise early, bathe, offer a little water with a few sesame seeds facing south in memory of the ancestors, give food to someone who needs it, and light a lamp in the evening. The details differ between families, and a priest or an elder in your family can tell you the customs of your own.

Remembering the people who came before you needs no ritual perfection. If a fast or a long observance is difficult, a quiet moment and a glass of water offered with care is enough. If you have a health condition, are pregnant, nursing, elderly or on regular medicine, speak to a doctor before fasting.

Reading the tithi in the calendar

Amavasya is the tithi that ends at the instant of the new Moon, which is the same moment everywhere, though the local date and clock time differ. The rule for rites for ancestors is the afternoon (Aparahna), while some families also bathe and give on the day on which Amavasya is in force at sunrise. For Diwali the rule is the evening.

Because Amavasya can start on one civil day and end on the next, calendars sometimes list two days, and the festival page for Amavasya shows the tithi start and end times for each city. The daily panchang shows the tithi in force today.

To see whether Amavasya is the tithi running today in your own city, open the daily panchang. Amavasya follows Chaturdashi in the cycle and is followed by Pratipada; the whole set is described in the guide to the thirty tithis.

Related pages

• Amavasya dates: the new Moon days for 49 cities.
• Diwali and Diwali Lakshmi Puja: the Amavasya festival of lamps.
• Somvar Vrat Vidhi: for Somvati Amavasya.
• Shani Puja on Saturday: for Shani Amavasya.
• Purnima: the full Moon, the other end of the month.
• Muhurat: how Amavasya is treated.

Frequently asked questions