Paksa

Paksha (or pakṣa) relates to the time period of a fortnight.

Pakṣa literally means the flank or side half of anything [Monnier Williams Sanskrit Dictionary] . Its most common use though refers to the two parts of the lunar month created by the Moon’s waxing and waning. The waxing phase of the Moon is called Shukla-paksha (Śukla-pakṣa)- the white half of the Moon. The waning phase of the Moon is called Krishna-paksha (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa)-the dark half.

Each pakṣa is composed of 15 tithis. A tithi is calculated by 12 degree motion of the Moon. 30 tithis or two pakṣas make one synodic lunar month.

Usage

Pakṣa can refer to the actual phase of the Moon "or" to the period of time related to half a lunar month (fortnight).

In Vedic astrology when a person does a prasna (a question chart) and the planet Venus indicates the time period, the event referred to in the answer will happen in a pakṣa ("fortnight") from the time the question was asked.

References