[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › [History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India)](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930) › v3.c48.5 # History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c48.5 History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c48.5 - **Language:** English ### [v3.c48.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.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. - [Previous: v3.c48.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v3.c48.4) - [Next: v3.c48.6](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v3.c48.6) - [Up: v3.c48](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v3.c48) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v3.c48.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v3.c48.5) · Pramāṇa