Shloka 16
Kārtika-Māhātmya
The Greatness of Kārtika
काले कालविदां श्रेष्ठः संप्राप्तः कार्तिकः शुभः । निद्राछेदकरो विष्णोः स मासः पुण्यदायकः ॥ १६ ॥
kāle kālavidāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ saṃprāptaḥ kārtikaḥ śubhaḥ | nidrāchedakaro viṣṇoḥ sa māsaḥ puṇyadāyakaḥ || 16 ||
ในบรรดากาลและฤดูกาลทั้งหลาย เดือนการ์ติกะอันเป็นมงคล—ประเสริฐสำหรับผู้รู้กาล—ได้มาถึงแล้ว เดือนนี้เป็นผู้ตัดความหลับแห่งพระวิษณุ และเป็นเดือนประทานบุญกุศล
Narada (teaching within the Uttara-Bhaga māhātmya narrative; speaker attribution follows the common Narada–Sanatkumāra dialogue frame in the Purāṇa)
Vrata: Kārtika-vrata (implicit month-mahātmya context)
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It declares Kārtika as the foremost sacred month, uniquely powerful for generating puṇya, and highlights it as a prime period for intensified Viṣṇu-centered devotion and observances.
By linking Kārtika directly to Viṣṇu and calling it merit-giving, the verse points to time-based bhakti—worship, vows, and disciplines performed in Kārtika—as especially fruitful for spiritual progress.
It implicitly emphasizes kāla-jñāna (sacred calendrics/auspicious timing), a practical discipline aligned with Jyotiṣa (Vedāṅga astrology/astronomy) used to recognize and prioritize spiritually potent periods like Kārtika.