In the Hindu calendar

Hindu calendar

The hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada...

, Chaturdashi (Telugu

Telugu language

Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

: చతుర్దశి) is the 14th day (Tithi

Tithi

In vedic timekeeping, a tithi is a lunar day, or the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the moon and the sun to increase by 12°. Tithis begin at varying times of day and vary in duration from approximately 19 to approximately 26 hours. There are 30 tithis in each lunar month, named...

) of the waxing phase or waning phase of the moon. This is the day prior to new moon

New moon

In astronomical terminology, the new moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth...

 (Amavasya

Amavasya

Amavasya is the Indian name for a New moon. The word Amavasya is common to many Indian languages especially Sanskrit, Hindi, Assamese, Kannada, Bengali, Konkani, Marathi, Oriya, Telugu, and Gujarati...

) or full moon

Full moon

Full moon lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.Lunar eclipses can only occur at...

 (Pournami

Pournami

Pournami is a 2006 Telugu language film directed by choreographer-turned director Prabhu Deva. It stars Trisha Krishnan, Prabhas, Charmy Kaur, Rahul Dev, and Sindhu Tolani. The movie was released with a lot of hype because of Prabhas and Krishnan's earlier hit, Varsham. However, despite the huge...

). It has a great significance to Bengalis, as goddess Tara appeared to rishi vasistha on this tithi.

Etymology

Chaturdasi means 14, wherein Chatur means four and Dasi means 10. It is taken from the sanskrit word chaturdas meaning 14.

Festive Chaturdashi

• The day before Diwali
  Diwali
  Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
  
   is Naraka Chaturdashi
  Naraka Chaturdashi
  Naraka Chaturdashi is a Hindu festival, which falls on the second day of the festival of Diwali.Kali means Dark and Chaudas - Fourteenth. Thus, celebrated on the 14th day of the dark half of Āshwin month, Kali Chaudas is the day allotted to the worship of Maha-Kali or Shakti and is believed that...
  
  . It is before the Amavasya in the month of Asvina.
• Maha Shivaratri
  Maha Shivaratri
  Maha Shivratri or Maha Sivaratri or Shivaratri or Sivarathri is a Hindu festival celebrated every year on the 13th night/14th day in the Krishna Paksha of the month of Maagha or Phalguna...
  
   or Maagha Bahula Chaturdashi. It is before the Amavasya
  Amavasya
  Amavasya is the Indian name for a New moon. The word Amavasya is common to many Indian languages especially Sanskrit, Hindi, Assamese, Kannada, Bengali, Konkani, Marathi, Oriya, Telugu, and Gujarati...
  
   in the month of Maagha
  Maagha
  Maagha is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Maagh is the eleventh month of the year, beginning in January and ending in February....
  
  .
• Anant Chaturdashi
  Anant Chaturdashi
  Anant Chaturdashi is Hindu religious observance is performed on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapad month of Hindu calendar. The principal deity of this observance is Lord Anant, that is Lord Vishnu while the subordinate deities are Shesh and Yamuna. This vowed religious...
  
   is performed in the bright fort­night, Shukla Pakshaof Bhadrapad.
• Tara puja is performed on Aswin chaturdashi, before laxmi puja.
• Chachor of narapora or holika dahan is celebrated in vasant chaturdashi before holi.