Kartika (month)

Kārtika, Karttika or Kartik is the eighth month of the Hindu lunar calendar and the Indian national calendar. The name of the month is derived from the position of the Moon near the Kṛttikā nakshatra (star) on the full moon day. The month corresponds to the autumn season and falls in October–November of the Gregorian calendar.

In the Hindu solar calendar, it corresponds to the month of Tula and begins with the Sun's entry into Libra. It corresponds to Kartik, the seventh month in the Bengali calendar, and Kartika, the seventh month in Vikram Samvat. In the Tamil calendar, it corresponds to the eighth month of Karthigai, falling in the Gregorian months of November–December. In the Vaishnav calendar, it corresponds to the eighth month of Damodara.

In the Hindu lunar calendar, each month has 29 or 30 days. The month begins on the next day after Amavasya (new moon) or Purnima (full moon) as per amanta and purnimanta systems respectively. A month consists of two cycles of 15 days each, Shukla Paksha (waning moon) and Krishna Paksha (waxing moon). Days in each cycle are labeled as a thithi, with each thithi repeating twice in a month.