Shloka 3

Kārtika Vrata, Bhīṣma-pañcaka, and Ekādaśī Timing

Tithi & Pāraṇa Rules

Devanagari script

सदा हरेर्व्रतं श्रेष्ठं ततः स्याद्दक्षिणायने / चातुर्मास्ये ततस्तस्मात्कार्तिके भीष्मपञ्चकम्

Transliteration

sadā harervrataṃ śreṣṭhaṃ tataḥ syāddakṣiṇāyane / cāturmāsye tatastasmātkārtike bhīṣmapañcakam

Translation

ဟရီအား အပ်နှံသော ဗြတသည် အမြဲတမ်း အကောင်းဆုံးဖြစ်သည်။ ထို့နောက် ဒက္ခိဏာယန (နေ၏ တောင်ဘက်သို့ လှည့်သည့်ကာလ) အတွင်း ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်းသည် ထူးမြတ်သည်။ ထို့နောက် ချာတုရ္မာသျ (လေးလပတ်) ဗြတ ဖြစ်ပြီး၊ ထိုအားလုံးထက် အထွတ်အထိပ်မှာ ကာရ္တိကလတွင် ဆောင်ရွက်သော ဘီရှ္မပဉ္စက ဖြစ်သည်။

Word by Word

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (always)

• हरेः: of Hari
• हरेः: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• व्रतम्: vow
• व्रतम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• श्रेष्ठम्: best
• श्रेष्ठम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Discourse (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तदर्थक/अनन्तर (thereafter/from that)

• स्यात्: should be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• दक्षिणायने: in the southern solstice (Dakṣiṇāyana)
• दक्षिणायने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्षिणायन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya period
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• ततः: then
• ततः: Discourse (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तर (then)

• तस्मात्: from that, thereafter
• तस्मात्: Discourse (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तस्मात् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक तद्)
• Form: अव्ययप्रयोग; तद्-प्रातिपदिकस्य पञ्चमी-एकवचनरूपम् अव्ययवत् (therefrom/thereafter)

• कार्तिके: in Kārtika
• कार्तिके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• भीष्मपञ्चकम्: the Bhīṣma five-day observance
• भीष्मपञ्चकम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म (प्रातिपदिक) + पञ्चक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—भीष्मस्य पञ्चकम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue to Garuda/Vinatā-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Among vows, those dedicated to Hari are supreme; observances gain potency when aligned with sacred calendrical windows, with Bhīṣma-pañcaka in Kārtika as highest.

Vedantic Theme: Kāla as a manifestation of the Lord’s order; aligning practice with dharmic time enhances sattva and devotion.

Application: Prioritize a Vishnu-centered vow; if unable year-round, focus on high-impact windows (Cāturmāsya/Kārtika; Bhīṣma-pañcaka) with increased japa, pūjā, and restraint.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Geographic Context

Type: sacred time-cycle (kāla-kṣetra)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: Kartika-vrata and Bhishma-panchaka praise in vrata sections; Garuda Purana: repeated emphasis on Hari-bhakti as best among practices

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Vishnu)
• Dakṣiṇāyana
• Cāturmāsya
• Kārtika
• Bhīṣma-pañcaka

FAQs

What is the importance of Hari-vrata in the Garuda Purana?

This verse ranks a vow dedicated to Hari (Vishnu) as the सर्वोत्तम (supreme) among religious observances, indicating it as a primary means for spiritual merit and dharmic living.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

While not describing the after-death journey directly, it prioritizes Vishnu-centered vows (especially in Kārtika) as spiritually elevating practices that build puṇya and support liberation-oriented living.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Adopt a consistent Vishnu-focused vrata (regular worship, restraint, charity), and if possible observe Cāturmāsya disciplines and Kārtika devotional practices—especially the Bhīṣma-pañcaka as a concentrated five-day vow.