Shloka 16

Devanagari script

तेषां पुण्यतमा रात्रि: पर्वसंधौ सम शारदी । तत्रैव वसतामासीत्‌ कार्तिकी जनमेजय,जनमेजय! उनके वहीं रहते समय पर्वकी संधि-वेलामें कार्तिककी शरत्पूर्णिमाकी परम पुण्यमयी रात्रि आयी

Transliteration

teṣāṁ puṇyatamā rātriḥ parvasandhau samaśāradī | tatraiva vasatām āsīt kārtikī janamejaya ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: While they were staying there, at the juncture of the sacred observance (parva), there came the most meritorious night—the autumnal full-moon night of Kārtika, O Janamejaya.

Word by Word

तेषाम्of them

पुण्यतमाmost meritorious/most holy

रात्रिःnight

पर्वसन्धौat the junction of the festival/seasonal period

समat the same time/just then

शारदीautumnal (of autumn)

तत्रthere

एवindeed/just

वसताम्of (those) dwelling/staying

आसीत्was/occurred

कार्तिकीKārtikī (the Kārtika full-moon night)

जनमेजयO Janamejaya

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Janamejaya

Kārtikī (Kārtika full-moon night)

Parva-sandhi (festival/observance junction)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical and spiritual significance of sacred time: certain calendrical moments—like the Kārtika full-moon at a parva-junction—are portrayed as especially conducive to accruing puṇya through disciplined, dharmic conduct (restraint, worship, vows, charity), reminding the listener that timing and intention matter in religious life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana marks a specific auspicious moment in the story: while the group is staying in one place, the highly sacred autumnal Kārtika full-moon night arrives at the transition point of a parva (observance/festival), setting the scene for events or practices associated with that holy night.