Shloka 28

Devanagari script

माघो<यं समनुप्राप्तो मास: सौम्यो युधिष्ठिर । त्रिभागशेष: पक्षोडयं शुक्लो भवितुमहति,'युधिष्ठिर! इस समय चान्द्रमासके अनुसार माघका महीना प्राप्त हुआ है। इसका यह शुक्लपक्ष चल रहा है, जिसका एक भाग बीत चुका है और तीन भाग बाकी है (शुक्लपक्षसे मासका आरम्भ माननेपर आज माघ शुक्ला अष्टमी प्रतीत होती है)”

Transliteration

māgho 'yaṃ samanuprāpto māsaḥ saumyo yudhiṣṭhira | tribhāgaśeṣaḥ pakṣo 'yaṃ śuklo bhavitum arhati ||

Translation

യുദ്ധിഷ്ഠിരാ! ചാന്ദ്രമാനപ്രകാരം സൗമ്യമായ മാഘമാസം എത്തിയിരിക്കുന്നു. ഇത് അതിന്റെ ശുക്ലപക്ഷം; ഒരു ഭാഗം കഴിഞ്ഞു, ഇനി മൂന്ന് ഭാഗങ്ങൾ ശേഷിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

माघःthe month Māgha

अयम्this

समनुप्राप्तःhas arrived / has come

मासःmonth

सौम्यःpleasant, auspicious

युधिष्ठिरO Yudhiṣṭhira

त्रिभागशेषःhaving three parts remaining

पक्षःfortnight (pakṣa)

अयम्this

शुक्लःbright (waxing)

भवितुम्to be / to become

अर्हतिis fit / ought

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Yudhiṣṭhira

Māgha (month)

Śukla-pakṣa (bright fortnight)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds dharmic attention to kāla (proper time): auspicious actions, vows, gifts, and observances are traditionally aligned with the lunar calendar, and the narrator marks the season and fortnight to situate what follows within an appropriate ritual-ethical context.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana informs Yudhiṣṭhira that the lunar month Māgha has begun and that the bright fortnight is underway, with most of it still remaining—setting the temporal scene for subsequent instructions or observances in the discourse.