Menstruation
Menstruation is the most visible phase of the menstrual cycle and its beginning is used as the marker between cycles. The first day of menstrual bleeding is the date used for the last menstrual period (LMP). The typical length of time between the first day of one period and the first day of the next is 21 to 45 days in young women, and 21 to 31 days in adults (an average of 28 days).
Chandravakyas
The Moon's orbit approximates an ellipse rather than a circle. The orientation and the shape of this orbit is not fixed. In particular, the positions of the extreme points,
the point of closest approach (perigee) and the point of farthest excursion (apogee), make a full circle in about nine years. It takes the Moon longer to return to the same position, perigee or apogee, because it moved ahead during one revolution. This longer period is called the anomalistic month, and has an average length of 27.554551 days (27 d 13 h 18 min 33.2 s). The apparent diameter of the Moon varies with this period. 9 anomalistic months constitute a period of approximately 248 days. The differences in the longitudes of the Moon on the successive days of a 248-day cycle constitute the "Chandravākyas". Each set of "Chandravākyas" contains a list of 248 "Vākyās" or sentences.