Shloka 31
The Glory of Lamp-Donation
in Kārttika
कार्तिके दीपदाता च स गच्छेद्धरिमंदिरम् । व्यास उवाच । इति श्रुत्वा ततो दूता गतास्ते वै यथागताः
kārtike dīpadātā ca sa gaccheddharimaṃdiram | vyāsa uvāca | iti śrutvā tato dūtā gatāste vai yathāgatāḥ
Wer im Monat Kārttika eine Lampe darbringt, gelangt zur Wohnstatt Haris. Vyāsa sprach: Als sie dies vernommen hatten, gingen jene Boten fort, so wie sie gekommen waren.
Vyāsa
Concept: Kārttika dīpa-dāna (offering a lamp) yields access to Hari’s abode; small sattvic acts done in sacred time bear immense fruit.
Application: During Kārttika, light a ghee/sesame-oil lamp before Viṣṇu/Tulasi at dusk, dedicate the merit for inner clarity and compassion, and keep the month’s conduct pure (truthfulness, non-harm, simple diet).
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A devotee in the month of Kārttika offers a single steady lamp at a Viṣṇu shrine; the flame rises like a golden lotus, and a subtle pathway of light opens toward Hari’s radiant mandira. In the background, divine messengers pause, listening to Vyāsa’s pronouncement, then depart as silently as they arrived.","primary_figures":["Vishnu (as the distant radiant presence)","a Kartika lamp-offering devotee","Vishnudutas (subtle, in the periphery)","Vyāsa (as narrator-sage)"],"setting":"Temple threshold at dusk with Tulasi courtyard, brass lampstand, faint celestial corridor of light leading upward.","lighting_mood":"temple lamp-lit","color_palette":["gold leaf","deep indigo","lotus pink","emerald green","warm saffron"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: Viṣṇu’s sanctum glowing behind a carved arch, a devotee offering a brass dīpa in Kārttika dusk; heavy gold leaf halos, rich vermilion and emerald textiles, gem-studded ornaments on Viṣṇu, ornate lamp flames rendered as lotus-shaped gold, subtle Vishnudūtas at the margins with conch-and-disc emblems.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: a quiet temple courtyard with Tulasi plant, a small oil lamp in the devotee’s hands, cool twilight blues and soft saffron highlights; delicate facial features, lyrical trees and distant hills, a faint luminous path suggesting Hari’s abode, minimal yet poetic Vishnudūtas drifting like pale clouds.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines, warm red-yellow-green palette; Viṣṇu in the sanctum with pronounced eyes and elaborate crown, the devotee in profile offering a dīpa; stylized flame motifs, temple pillars and floral borders, Vishnudūtas as symmetrical attendants holding śaṅkha and cakra.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: Kartika dīpa-mahātmya tableau with lotus borders and hanging lamps; central shrine of Hari with deep blue aura, rows of small diyas like stars, peacocks near the courtyard, intricate floral vines around Tulasi, gold detailing emphasizing the flame as sacred merit."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"devotional","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["temple bells","soft conch shell","evening crickets","oil-lamp crackle","gentle silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: गच्छेत्+हरिमन्दिरम्→गच्छेद्धरिमन्दिरम् (त्→द्; द्+ह→द्ध); हरि+मन्दिरम्→हरिमन्दिरम्; गताः+ते→गतास्ते (आः+त→आस्); यथा+आगताः→यथागताः (आ-आ संधि)
FAQs
It states that the giver of a lamp in the month of Kārttika attains Hari’s abode (harimandira), indicating a strongly Vaiṣṇava merit-fruit for the vow or offering.
The verse explicitly marks “Vyāsa uvāca” (Vyāsa said). The closing line (“having heard this, the messengers departed”) functions as a narrative transition, indicating the completion of a message and the exit of the dūtas.
It elevates a simple, accessible act—offering a lamp during Kārttika—as a devotional practice with significant spiritual consequence, reinforcing the ethic of bhakti expressed through charitable ritual giving (dāna).