The lunar month was divided into two fortnights called paksha or
wing. The period of the waxing moon was known as sukla or sudi paksha,
that is the light fortnight, and that of the waning moon as krishna
or budi paksha, that is the dark fortnight.
Each lunar month was also divided into thirty equal periods, called
tithis or lunar days. Since there are less than thirty days in the
lunar month, a tithi does not correspond to an ordinary day, but
begins and ends at odd hours of the day. Nevertheless the tithis
are printed in all almanacs, and are used for the calculation of
auspicious moments. [224]