Shloka 18
Kārtika-Māhātmya
The Greatness of Kārtika
न कार्तिकसमो मासो न कृतेन समं युगम् । न धर्मस्तु दया तुल्यो न ज्योतिश्चक्षुषा समम् ॥ १८ ॥
na kārtikasamo māso na kṛtena samaṃ yugam | na dharmastu dayā tulyo na jyotiścakṣuṣā samam || 18 ||
ಕಾರ್ತಿಕ ಮಾಸಕ್ಕೆ ಸಮಾನವಾದ ಮಾಸವಿಲ್ಲ; ಕೃತಯುಗಕ್ಕೆ ಸಮಾನವಾದ ಯುಗವಿಲ್ಲ. ದಯೆಗೆ ಸಮಾನವಾದ ಧರ್ಮವಿಲ್ಲ; ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಸಮಾನವಾದ ಬೆಳಕು ಇಲ್ಲ।
Narada (teaching within the Kartika Mahatmya context)
Vrata: Kārtika-vrata (implicit, via month supremacy)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It ranks sacred time and sacred conduct: Kārtika is praised as the foremost month for religious merit, Kṛta Yuga as the ideal age, compassion as the highest dharma, and the eye as the greatest ‘light’ for embodied beings—urging devotees to use auspicious time for compassionate, dharmic living.
By elevating Kārtika (a prime season for vows, worship, and charity) and compassion, the verse frames bhakti as time-bound disciplined practice (vrata, pūjā, dāna) infused with dayā—devotion expressed through kindness and restraint, not mere ritual.
It implicitly reflects Jyotiṣa (Vedāṅga astronomy/astrology) through the importance of calendrical sacred time (the month of Kārtika) and emphasizes ethical application—choosing proper times for vrata, dāna, and worship in line with dharma.