Shloka 8
अध्याय ८२ — केशवप्रयाणे निमित्तदर्शनम्
Omens and Reception During Keśava’s Departure
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! तदनन्तर जब रात्रिका अन्धकार दूर हुआ और निर्मल आकाशमें सूर्यदेवके उदित होनेपर उनकी कोमल किरणें सब ओर फैल गयीं। कार्तिक मासके रेवती नक्षत्रमें 'मैत्र” नामक मुहूर्त उपस्थित होनेपर सत्त्वगुणी पुरुषोंमें श्रेष्ठ एवं समर्थ श्रीकृष्णने यात्रा आरम्भ की। उन दिनों शरद्ू-ऋतुका अन्त और हेमन्तका आरम्भ हो रहा था। सब ओर खूब उपजी हुई खेती लहलहा रही थी ।। मड़ल्या: पुण्यनिर्घोषा वाच: शृण्वंश्व सूनूृता: । ब्राह्मणानां प्रतीतानामृषीणामिव वासव:
vaiśampāyana uvāca—janamejaya! tad-anantaram yadā rātrikāndhakāro dūraḥ kṛtaḥ, nirmale cākāśe sūryadevasya udaye sati tasya komalāḥ kiraṇāḥ sarvato vyāptāḥ. kārtika-māse revatī-nakṣatre ‘maitra’ nāma muhūrte samupasthite sattva-guṇī puruṣeṣu śreṣṭhaḥ samarthaś ca śrīkṛṣṇo yātrām ārabdhavān. tadā śarad-ṛtor antaḥ hemantasya cārambhaḥ āsīt. sarvataḥ suṣṭhu jāta-kṛṣiḥ lalahāna āsīt. maṅgalyāḥ puṇya-nirghoṣā vācaḥ śṛṇvan sūnṛtāḥ, brāhmaṇānāṃ pratītānām ṛṣīṇām iva vāsavaḥ.
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, thereafter, when the darkness of night had passed and, in the clear sky, the Sun rose and spread his gentle rays in every direction—when, in the month of Kārttika under the Revatī constellation, the auspicious muhūrta called ‘Maitra’ arrived—Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the foremost among sāttvika and capable men, set out on his journey. It was the close of autumn and the beginning of hemanta; everywhere the well-grown crops waved in abundance. As he went, he heard auspicious, holy-sounding, truthful words—like Indra listening to the trusted Brāhmaṇas and Ṛṣis.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames action under dharma through auspicious timing, inner sattva, and truthful speech: a righteous mission begins when clarity (sunrise/clear sky) replaces darkness, and it is supported by satya (truthful, gentle words) and the counsel/approval of the wise.
At sunrise in the month of Kārttika, under Revatī and the Maitra muhūrta, Śrī Kṛṣṇa begins his journey. The season shifts from autumn to early winter, fields are flourishing, and he proceeds hearing auspicious, sacred, truthful utterances—likened to Indra hearing revered Brahmins and sages.