Shloka 32

Arjuna meets the Lokapālas, is tested by Indra, and is led to Amarāvatī for astra-śikṣā

Indraloka-gamana

Devanagari script

स मासान्‌ विभजन्‌ काले बहुथधा पर्वसंधिषु । तथैव भगवान्‌ सोमो नक्षत्र: सह गच्छति,“उसी प्रकार भगवान्‌ चन्द्रमा भी नक्षत्रोंके साथ मेरु पर्वतकी परिक्रमा करते हैं और पर्वसंधिके समय विभिन्न मासोंका विभाग करते रहते हैं

Transliteration

sa māsān vibhajan kāle bahudhā parva-sandhiṣu | tathaiva bhagavān somo nakṣatraiḥ saha gacchati ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: «Như thế, theo đúng thời vận, tại các điểm giao nhau của mùa tiết, các tháng được phân định theo nhiều cách. Cũng vậy, thần Mặt Trăng đi cùng các tinh tú, thực hiện vòng nhiễu quanh (Meru), và nhờ đó xác lập những phân chia của các tháng.»

Word by Word

सःhe/that (one)

मासान्months

विभजन्dividing/apportioning

कालेin time/at the proper time

बहुधाin many ways/variously

पर्वसन्धिषुat the junctions of seasons/solstices (seasonal transitions)

तथाthus/so

एवindeed/just

भगवान्the venerable/divine

सोमःSoma; the Moon

नक्षत्रैःwith the lunar mansions/stars

सहtogether with

गच्छतिgoes/moves

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Soma (the Moon)

Nakṣatras (lunar mansions/constellations)

Meru (implied by the cited Hindi gloss: Meru-parikrama)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.