Shloka 32
Arjuna meets the Lokapālas, is tested by Indra, and is led to Amarāvatī for astra-śikṣā
Indraloka-gamana
स मासान् विभजन् काले बहुथधा पर्वसंधिषु । तथैव भगवान् सोमो नक्षत्र: सह गच्छति,“उसी प्रकार भगवान् चन्द्रमा भी नक्षत्रोंके साथ मेरु पर्वतकी परिक्रमा करते हैं और पर्वसंधिके समय विभिन्न मासोंका विभाग करते रहते हैं
sa māsān vibhajan kāle bahudhā parva-sandhiṣu | tathaiva bhagavān somo nakṣatraiḥ saha gacchati ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Thus, in due course, the months are apportioned in many ways at the junctions of the seasons. In the same manner, the divine Moon also moves together with the constellations, making his circuit (around Meru), and thereby marks out the divisions of the months.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ṛta/dharma as cosmic regularity: time is not arbitrary but structured through observable celestial motions, especially the Moon’s progress with the nakṣatras, which underwrites the calendrical division of months and seasonal transitions.
Vaiśampāyana describes how months and seasonal junctures are determined, explaining that the Moon, moving in concert with the constellations (nakṣatras), serves as the celestial marker by which the divisions of time are recognized.