Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 132
Graha–Ketu–Utpāta Lakṣaṇas: Solar/Lunar Omens, Comets, Eclipses, and Calendar Rules
तन्नक्षत्राह्वयो मासः पौर्णमासी तदाह्वया । तत्पक्षौ दैव पित्राख्यौ शुक्लकृष्णौ तथापरे ॥ १३२ ॥
tannakṣatrāhvayo māsaḥ paurṇamāsī tadāhvayā | tatpakṣau daiva pitrākhyau śuklakṛṣṇau tathāpare || 132 ||
அந்த (அதிஷ்டாதா) நக்ஷத்திரத்தின் பெயராலே மாதம் அழைக்கப்படுகிறது; பௌர்ணமியும் அதே பெயரால் புகழ்பெறும். அதன் இரு பக்ஷங்களும் ‘தைவ’ மற்றும் ‘பித்ர்ய’ எனப்படும்—அதாவது சுக்ல, கிருஷ்ண பக்ஷங்கள்.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: none
FAQs
It frames sacred time (kāla) as a dharmic structure: months and fortnights are not merely astronomical, but are linked to Deva- and Pitṛ-oriented duties, guiding a practitioner to align worship and ancestral rites with the lunar rhythm.
By distinguishing the bright and dark fortnights as ‘divine’ and ‘ancestral,’ it supports bhakti as disciplined, time-aligned practice—choosing appropriate lunar periods for Vishnu worship, vows (vrata), and offerings, so devotion becomes steady and ritually coherent.
Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa (Vedic calendrics/astronomy): the verse summarizes how lunar months and pūrṇimā are named and how pakṣas (śukla/kṛṣṇa) are classified for different ritual purposes, especially Deva-kārya and Pitṛ-kārya (e.g., śrāddha).