Shloka 58
Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
तच्छापादद्यापि क्षीयते सोमो<मावास्यान्तरस्थ: पौर्णमासीमात्रेडधिछितो मेघलेखाप्रतिच्छन्न॑ वपुर्दर्शयति मेघसदृशं वर्णमगमत् _तदस्य शशलक्ष्म विमलमभवत्
tacchāpād adyāpi kṣīyate somo ’māvāsyāntarasthaḥ; paurṇamāsī-mātreḍadhicchito meghalekhā-praticchannaṃ vapur darśayati; meghasadṛśaṃ varṇam agamat; tad asya śaśalakṣma vimalaṃ abhavat.
Because of that curse, Soma (the Moon) still wanes during the dark fortnight, diminishing until the new-moon night, and then waxes during the bright fortnight, growing until the full moon. His orb appears as though veiled by a dark, cloud-like streak, and within his body the hare-mark is seen—clear and distinct—bearing a cloud-dark hue. The passage explains a lasting cosmic consequence of a moral-spiritual act: a curse does not merely punish once, but can become an enduring order in the world, visible to all as a reminder of accountability.
तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ
Educational Q&A
Actions and moral transgressions can yield enduring consequences that shape the world’s order; the moon’s waxing and waning is presented as a visible, recurring reminder of accountability and the lasting force of a curse.
The speaker explains that due to a particular curse, Soma continually diminishes through the dark fortnight up to amāvāsyā and increases through the bright fortnight up to paurṇamāsī, and that the moon’s orb shows a cloud-dark streak and the clearly visible hare-mark.