Shloka 16
Kārtika-Māhātmya
The Greatness of Kārtika
काले कालविदां श्रेष्ठः संप्राप्तः कार्तिकः शुभः । निद्राछेदकरो विष्णोः स मासः पुण्यदायकः ॥ १६ ॥
kāle kālavidāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ saṃprāptaḥ kārtikaḥ śubhaḥ | nidrāchedakaro viṣṇoḥ sa māsaḥ puṇyadāyakaḥ || 16 ||
ومن بين الفصول والأزمنة المقدّسة، قد أقبل شهر كارتِيكا المبارك، وهو الأسمى عند العارفين بعلم الزمان. إنه يقطع نوم الربّ فيشنو؛ وذلك الشهر واهبٌ للثواب والبركة (پونْيَ).
Narada (teaching within the Uttara-Bhaga māhātmya narrative; speaker attribution follows the common Narada–Sanatkumāra dialogue frame in the Purāṇa)
Vrata: Kārtika-vrata (implicit month-mahātmya context)
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It declares Kārtika as the foremost sacred month, uniquely powerful for generating puṇya, and highlights it as a prime period for intensified Viṣṇu-centered devotion and observances.
By linking Kārtika directly to Viṣṇu and calling it merit-giving, the verse points to time-based bhakti—worship, vows, and disciplines performed in Kārtika—as especially fruitful for spiritual progress.
It implicitly emphasizes kāla-jñāna (sacred calendrics/auspicious timing), a practical discipline aligned with Jyotiṣa (Vedāṅga astrology/astronomy) used to recognize and prioritize spiritually potent periods like Kārtika.