Shloka 25
Kārtika-Māhātmya
The Greatness of Kārtika
मांधातोवाच । संप्राप्य कार्तिके मासे राजा रुक्मांगदो मुने । मोहिनीं मोहसंयुक्तां कथं स बुभुजे वद ॥ २५ ॥
māṃdhātovāca | saṃprāpya kārtike māse rājā rukmāṃgado mune | mohinīṃ mohasaṃyuktāṃ kathaṃ sa bubhuje vada || 25 ||
मांधातोवाच—हे मुने, कार्तिकमासे संप्राप्ते, मोहसंयुक्तां मोहिनीं राजा रुक्माङ्गदः कथं बुभुजे? तन्मे वद ॥२५॥
Māndhātā
Vrata: Kārtika-vrata (implied by month focus)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It frames a key inquiry: how delusion (moha) can entangle even a king, setting up a moral lesson that Kārtika-related piety and dharma must be protected from temptation and भ्रम (delusive attraction).
Indirectly, it contrasts bhakti-oriented discipline (especially in Kārtika, a vrata-focused month) with मोह (delusion); the narrative invites reflection on guarding devotion and vows from sensory infatuation.
The verse primarily signals calendrical/ritual timing—Kārtika māsa—connecting to Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa-style awareness of sacred months used to schedule vratas and observances, rather than grammar or phonetics.