Kālacakra Tithis
The Kālacakra is the “wheel of time”. A tithi is a day of the lunar calendar, and each half of the lunar month (a paksha, or fortnight) has fifteen of them. Chapter 33 of the Kedāra Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa teaches that each tithi is given to a particular devatā.
Pūjā offered on the tithi of a devatā has greater power and brings particular fruits. This teaching is the deeper basis of the sacred calendar of Sanātana Dharma.
The Wheel of Time
The Kedāra Khaṇḍa presents the Kālacakra as the principle that shapes the sacred calendar. Each of the fifteen tithis in a lunar fortnight is given to a particular devatā. Within each tithi there are also favourable and unfavourable smaller periods. Pūjā and rites done on the tithi of the presiding devatā work best. Pūjā done on the wrong tithi, when another devatā’s influence is strongest, may bear less fruit or may need extra offerings to set it right.
Which Devatā Rules Each Tithi
The devatā given to each tithi:
| Tithi | Devatā |
|---|---|
| Pratipadā (1st) | Brahmā |
| Dvitīyā (2nd) | Ākarshaṇī (or Vidhātṛ) |
| Tṛtīyā (3rd) | Gaurī |
| Caturthī (4th) | Gaṇeśa |
| Pañcamī (5th) | The Nāgas (serpent devatās) |
| Shashṭhī (6th) | Kārttikeya (Skanda) |
| Saptamī (7th) | Sūrya |
| Ashṭamī (8th) | Durgā |
| Navamī (9th) | Durgā |
| Daśamī (10th) | Yama |
| Ekādaśī (11th) | Vishṇu |
| Dvādaśī (12th) | Vishṇu |
| Trayodaśī (13th) | Śiva (Pradosha) |
| Caturdaśī (14th) | Śiva (Śivarātri on Kṛshṇa Caturdaśī) |
| Pūrṇimā / Amāvāsyā (15th) | The Pitṛs (ancestors), Candra |
Why Śiva Holds Two Tithis
Śiva rules both the 13th and the 14th tithis, two days in a row at the darkest point of the month, and this carries deep meaning. The 13th (trayodaśī) is Pradosha, when Śiva dances. The 14th (caturdaśī) is Śivarātri, his supreme night. Because they come one after the other, the last stage of the moon’s waning, the point of deepest darkness just before the new moon, belongs wholly to Śiva. This reflects his nature as Mahākāla, master of time and death, and his link with the moment of dissolution that comes before renewal.
How the Teaching Is Used
The Kālacakra teaching of the Kedāra Khaṇḍa is the basis for:
- The Pradosha Vrata (pūjā of Śiva at twilight on trayodaśī)
- The Ekādaśī fast (Vishṇu’s tithi)
- The pūjā of Gaṇeśa on Caturthī (Saṅkaṭa Caturthī and Vināyaka Caturthī)
- The pūjā of Kārttikeya on Shashṭhī (Skanda Shashṭhī)
- The pūjā of Sūrya on Saptamī (Ratha Saptamī)
- Observances for Yama and the ancestors on Daśamī
A vrata is a vowed religious observance, often with fasting.
Sources
- Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 33