Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 28
माघो<यं समनुप्राप्तो मास: सौम्यो युधिष्ठिर । त्रिभागशेष: पक्षोडयं शुक्लो भवितुमहति
māgho 'yaṃ samanuprāpto māsaḥ saumyo yudhiṣṭhira | tribhāgaśeṣaḥ pakṣo 'yaṃ śuklo bhavitum arhati ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Yudhiṣṭhira, the gentle month of Māgha has now arrived according to the lunar reckoning. This is its bright fortnight; one portion has already passed, and three portions still remain.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharmic attention to kāla (proper time): auspicious actions, vows, gifts, and observances are traditionally aligned with the lunar calendar, and the narrator marks the season and fortnight to situate what follows within an appropriate ritual-ethical context.
Vaiśampāyana informs Yudhiṣṭhira that the lunar month Māgha has begun and that the bright fortnight is underway, with most of it still remaining—setting the temporal scene for subsequent instructions or observances in the discourse.