Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 14
आगन्तव्यं च भवता समये मम पार्थिव । विनिवृत्ते दिनकरे प्रवृत्ते चोत्तरायणे,'पृथ्वीनाथ! जब सूर्यनारायण दक्षिणायनसे निवृत्त हो उत्तरायणपर आ जाये, उस समय तुम फिर हमारे पास आना”
āgantavyaṃ ca bhavatā samaye mama pārthiva | vinivṛtte dinakare pravṛtte cottarāyaṇe ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O king, you must come to me again at the appointed time—when the Sun has turned back from the southern course and the northern course (uttarāyaṇa) has begun.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharma as reliability: one should honor an agreed time and keep one’s commitment. It also links ethical action with ṛta (cosmic order) by marking the proper moment through the Sun’s transition to uttarāyaṇa.
Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses a king and instructs him to return at a specific, ritually significant time—when the Sun’s southern course ends and uttarāyaṇa begins—indicating a planned meeting or promised return tied to a calendrical turning point.