What is the name given to the full moon night?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:

The name given to the full moon night is **Poornima** (or Purnima). This term is derived from Sanskrit, where 'Poorna' means complete or full, and it denotes the night when the Moon is fully illuminated by the Sun and appears as a perfect circle in the sky. Poornima marks the completion of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of a lunar month in the Hindu calendar. Many significant festivals in India and South Asia are celebrated on the night of Poornima, such as Guru Purnima and Buddha Purnima, underscoring its religious and cultural importance. The full moon phase occurs when the Earth is positioned directly or nearly between the Sun and the Moon, allowing us to see the Moon's entire sunlit surface.

The incorrect option is 1:

Amavasya is the term used for the **new moon night**, not the full moon night. Amavasya is the last day of the dark half (Krishna Paksha) of the lunar month. On this night, the Moon is positioned between the Earth and the Sun, making the sunlit side of the Moon face away from the Earth. Consequently, the Moon is completely invisible or barely visible from Earth, often referred to as the no-moon night. It is a distinct astronomical and calendrical event, directly opposite to Poornima. Therefore, Option 1 is incorrect as it describes the absence of the moon, not the full moon.

The incorrect option is 3:

The option "Both (1) & (2) are right" is incorrect because Option 1 (Amavasya) and Option 2 (Poornima) refer to two opposite and mutually exclusive lunar phases. Poornima is the full moon, while Amavasya is the new moon. They cannot both be correct names for the same event, the full moon night. This option fails because it confuses the new moon night with the full moon night.

The incorrect option is 4:

The option "Both (1) & (2) are wrong" is incorrect because "Poornima" (Option 2) is definitively the correct name for the full moon night, as confirmed by astronomical and cultural terminology. Since Poornima accurately names the full moon night, it is incorrect to state that both options are wrong.