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
sa māsān vibhajan kāle bahudhā parva-sandhiṣu | tathaiva bhagavān somo nakṣatraiḥ saha gacchati ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: «Demikianlah, menurut putaran waktu, pada pertemuan musim-musim, bulan-bulan dibahagikan dengan pelbagai cara. Dengan cara yang sama, dewa Bulan juga bergerak bersama nakṣatra (rasi bintang), mengelilingi Meru, dan dengan itu menandai pembahagian bulan-bulan.»
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.