Purnimanta vs Amanta: Why the Hindu Month Name Differs in North and South India (2026)

2026-09-26

Purnimanta months end on the full moon and Amanta months on the new moon, so only the dark fortnight carries a different month name. The tithi is identical, which is why Pitru Paksha, Navratri and Diwali 2026 fall on the same days across India.

Short answer: Purnimanta and Amanta differ only in where the Hindu lunar month is said to end. In North India (Purnimanta), the month ends on Purnima, the full moon, so its dark half comes first. In Maharashtra, Gujarat and the South (Amanta), the month ends on Amavasya, the new moon, so its bright half comes first. The tithi is identical in both, so every festival falls on the same day. Only the month name attached to the dark half differs.

That is why Pitru Paksha 2026 (27 September – 10 October) is printed as "Ashwin Krishna Paksha" in a North Indian panchang and as "Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha" in a Marathi or South Indian calendar. Same fortnight, different label. Here is how it works, one step at a time.

What do Purnimanta and Amanta actually mean?

A Hindu month follows the Moon. One full cycle of the Moon, new moon to new moon or full moon to full moon, is one lunar month. It has two halves: Shukla Paksha, the bright half, when the Moon grows from Amavasya to Purnima, and Krishna Paksha, the dark half, when the Moon shrinks from Purnima back to Amavasya. Each half has about 15 tithis. A tithi is one lunar day, and it does not line up neatly with an English date; this explainer on tithi vs English date covers that gap.

The only question is where to draw the line that starts a new month. Two regional traditions answer it differently:

• Purnimanta (purnima + anta, "ending on the full moon"): the month closes on Purnima. So Krishna Paksha comes first, then Shukla Paksha. Followed in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal and most of the North.
• Amanta (ama + anta, "ending on the new moon"): the month closes on Amavasya. So Shukla Paksha comes first, then Krishna Paksha. Followed in Maharashtra, Gujarat, South India and, in part, Bengal.

How does one sky produce two different months?

Picture the 2026 month of Ashwin as a line of days. Both systems use exactly the same days; they simply cut the line in different places.

Purnimanta Ashwin: 27 September (Krishna Pratipada, the first day of the dark half) → 10 October (Amavasya) → 11 October (Shukla Pratipada) → 25–26 October (Purnima). From Pitru Paksha to Sharad Purnima, all of it is "Ashwin".

Amanta Ashwin: 11 October (Shukla Pratipada) → 25–26 October (Purnima) → then the dark half → 8 November (Amavasya, Diwali). From Navratri to Diwali, all of it is "Ashwin".

Notice the overlap. The bright half from 11 to 26 October is "Ashwin" in both. The disagreement is only about the dark halves on either side of it. The dark half of 27 September – 10 October belongs to Ashwin in the North but to Bhadrapada in Amanta. The dark half that runs from the end of Purnima on 26 October (09:41 in Delhi) to the Amavasya of 8 November belongs to Kartik in the North but to Ashwin in Amanta.

One rule covers everything: Shukla Paksha keeps the same month name in both systems. Krishna Paksha shifts back by one month name in Amanta. North "Ashwin Krishna" = Amanta "Bhadrapada Krishna". North "Kartik Krishna" = Amanta "Ashwin Krishna".

2026 festivals: same date, different month name

This table comes from our panchang engine, computed for Delhi. Read each row across. The date and the tithi are identical in both systems; only the month label changes.

Every row marked "same" is a Shukla Paksha tithi. The confusion lives only in the Krishna Paksha rows: Pitru Paksha and Diwali.

The tithi timings behind these dates (Delhi)

These timings are the real foundation, and they are the same under both systems. Computed for Delhi; your city may differ by a few minutes.

Look at the 8 November row. The tithi at sunrise is Chaturdashi, so our engine also marks that day as Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali); Amavasya begins at 11:28, which places Lakshmi Puja the same evening. Call the month Kartik or Ashwin; the clock does not move.

Why don't festival dates move between the two systems?

Because a festival is fixed to a tithi, not to a month name. Diwali is the night of Amavasya. In 2026 that Amavasya begins at 11:28 on 8 November in Delhi, whether you call it Kartik or Ashwin Amavasya. The Moon does not care what we named the month.

So if a Gujarati or Marathi relative says "Diwali is in Ashwin" and your panchang says "Kartik", both are right, and both mean 8 November. Every Amavasya and Purnima of 2026 is listed in one place in our Amavasya and Purnima 2026 list.

So where does the difference actually show up?

In two places. Knowing these two is enough:

• The date a month "begins": Ashwin starts on 27 September in the North but on 11 October in Amanta. Kartik starts in the North the moment Purnima ends on 26 October, while in Amanta it starts only after the Diwali Amavasya. So "Kartik has begun" is announced on different dates in different parts of the country.
• The name of an Adhik Maas: an Adhik Maas (also called Mal Maas) is the extra lunar month inserted from time to time to keep the lunar year in step with the solar year. Because the two systems draw month boundaries differently, the name attached to that extra month can differ too. In such a year, check which system a panchang follows before comparing it with another.

Why do Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali and Odia calendars differ yet again?

Because they are a third system altogether: solar calendars. Here the month is set by the Sun, not the Moon. The day the Sun moves from one rashi (zodiac sign) into the next is called Sankranti, and a new month begins there. The Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali and Odia calendars work this way, so their month boundaries fall on neither Purnima nor Amavasya. Our engine data shows the shift in action: the Sun is in Kanya on 11 October and in Tula on 25 October, so a solar month changed somewhere in between, while the lunar month of Ashwin simply carried on.

Which system does the AstroVedansh panchang use?

Our daily panchang shows Purnimanta names, the convention used by most North Indian panchangs. So on our pages Pitru Paksha reads "Ashwin Krishna Paksha" and Diwali reads "Kartik Amavasya". If you are from Maharashtra, Gujarat or the South, apply the one rule: keep the Shukla Paksha name as it is, and move the Krishna Paksha month name back by one. Everything else, from tithi and nakshatra to sunrise and sunset, applies to you unchanged.

Frequently asked questions

Do festival dates change between Purnimanta and Amanta?

No. Festivals follow the tithi, and the tithi is the same in both. In 2026, Pitru Paksha runs 27 September – 10 October, Navratri begins on 11 October and Diwali is on 8 November, everywhere in India. Only the month name printed alongside differs.

Is Diwali on Kartik Amavasya or Ashwin Amavasya?

Both, depending on the system. Kartik Amavasya in the North (Purnimanta); Ashwin Amavasya in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the South (Amanta). In 2026 it falls on Sunday, 8 November.

Is Pitru Paksha in Ashwin or Bhadrapada?

Ashwin Krishna Paksha in the North, Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha in Amanta. The days are identical: 27 September to 10 October 2026. The full schedule and observances are in our Pitru Paksha 2026 guide.

Which system is correct?

Both are. They are two regional conventions, not two different calculations. The tithi is one; only the name given to the month around it differs. Follow the convention of your family or region.

My calendar shows a different month name from the panchang. Is one of them wrong?

Usually not. First check whether the tithi and paksha match. If they do and only the Krishna Paksha month name is one step apart, you are looking at Purnimanta and Amanta side by side.