History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c48.5

v3.c48.5

The word ‘amāvāsyā’ literally means ‘the day when (the sun and the moon) dwell or are together.’ It is that *tithi* (day) on which both the sun and the moon are the nearest to each other, while paurṇamāsī is ‘the *tithi* on which the sun and the moon are at the greatest distance from each other.’ Pūrṇamāsa means ‘that moment when the moon is full.’ *Darśa* has the same sense as amāvāsyā. Darśa is taken to mean ‘the day on which the moon is seen only by the sun and by no one else.’ Darśa (*m*) and pūrṇamāsa (*m*) secondarily mean the rites that are performed on the amāvāsyā and the paurṇamāsī respectively.²²⁷⁴ An iṣṭi means a sacrifice in which the sacrificer employs four priests.