Karthika Puranam · Day 16 of 30
Karthika Puranam Day 16
Chapter 16 — The pillar lamp — Dhanalobha appears
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Wednesday, November 25, 2026
Krishna Paksha Pratipada · బహుళ పాడ్యమి
Chapter 16 — the story
Vasishtha first praises the pillar lamp and the sky lamp (Akasha Deepam) raised in Karthika. Then he tells how, at a temple by Sage Matanga's ashram, sages raised a wooden pillar on the eve of Karthika Pournami to hold a lamp. The pillar split open and a man stepped out of it: Dhanalobha, once a rich and cruel Brahmin landowner who had since passed through many lowly births.
He asks the sages how he can be freed, and they ask Angirasa, one of the sages present, to answer him. (Dhanalobha's story continues to chapter 19.)
What this chapter teaches
A Karthika lamp can free even a soul trapped for ages.
How to read the Karthika Puranam
- Read or listen to one chapter each day of Karthika Masam, usually in the evening after lighting the deepam.
- Many families read together after the pre-dawn Karthika snanam or at the Tulasi kota.
- These are short summaries; for the full text, read a printed Karthika Puranam or listen to a pravachanam.