Quick answer: Karthika Puranam Adhyaya 16 is read in India on Wednesday, 25 November 2026 (Krishna Pratipada), whether you follow the tithi-based table or read one adhyaya a day from 10 November. In the USA, UK and Canada the month began a day earlier (Monday 9 November), so readers there going one a day reach it on Tuesday, 24 November; check your local panchang. The chapter praises lamps on the flagstaff and on a pillar, and tells how a wooden post that held the sages' Pournami lamp broke open and released a man named Dhanalobha. The pillar lamp (stambha deepam) of Pournami comes from this chapter.

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The frame

Vasishtha continues for King Janaka the day after the full moon of Chapter 15. He tells the king that Karthika is the month most dear to Damodara, and that bathing, giving, keeping vows and the gift of a Salagrama are the heart of it.

Gifts and lamps

In the Telugu chapter we follow, Vasishtha teaches:

  • Give what you can. Those who are able to give in Karthika but do not are said to suffer hells such as Raurava; the gift of tambula (betel leaf) in this month is said to bring rebirth as an emperor.
  • A lamp every day. Lighting a lamp at the tulasi or before the Lord on every day of the month, without missing one, is said to destroy all sins and lead to Vaikuntha.
  • Karthika Pournami. A river bath, worship with incense, lamp and food, and gifts of dakshina, tambula and coconut are said to bless the childless with a son, and to keep the children of those who have them safe and long-lived.
  • Akasha deepam and stambha deepam. Placing a lamp up high on the flagstaff in this month, or keeping an akasha deepam or pillar lamp through the month and bowing to it, is said to bring every kind of prosperity and a joyful life. For the akasha deepam, pour shali rice or sesame at the base of the lamp, then light it.
  • Do not mock the lamp. Those who can light a lamp but do not, or who laugh at those who do, are said to be reborn as a shrew.
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As always, these are the text's teachings, offered to encourage devotion, not promises. Then Vasishtha tells a story.

The sages' pillar lamp

A great sage, whom the Telugu text names Mantaga, set up an ashram and built a Vishnu temple beside it, where he worshipped every day. In Karthika the sages living round about came to worship too, lighting lamps over the temple doors each day.

One day an elderly sage said to the others: "We all know that placing a pillar lamp in Karthika for the pleasure of Hari and Hara leads to Vaikuntha. Tomorrow is Karthika Shukla Pournami. Let us plant a pillar facing the temple and set a lamp on it. Let us go to the forest and bring a tall post." Delighted, they cut a tree in the forest, brought it back and planted it facing the deity. On it they poured shali rice, set a vessel filled with cow's ghee, put in a wick and lit the lamp.

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As they read the Purana, they heard a loud cracking. The post they had planted had split into pieces and the lamp lay scattered and dark. While the sages stood amazed, a man stepped out of the pillar.

Dhanalobha's story

Asked who he was, the man bowed and told them. In his last life he had been a Brahmin and a landlord named Dhanalobha. Blinded by his great wealth, he had acted without regard for right and wrong. He did not study the Vedas, worship Sri Hari or give in charity; he insulted the guests who came to him, neglected the learned and did wrong out of arrogance.

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Dying without ever having given, he suffered terrible hells, then was born a hundred thousand times as a dog, ten thousand times as a crow, five thousand times as a lizard, and as a dung beetle, and at last as a tree in a deep forest. By the sages' grace he had become the pillar, and now he had human form and understanding again. He asked them to forgive him.

The sages marvelled at the greatness of Karthika and of its full moon: even wood, stones and pillars, they said, were finding release before their eyes.

A question for Angirasa

Dhanalobha then asked them whether there was a path to liberation for him: everyone in the world is bound by karma, so how is that bond destroyed? The sages turned to the sage Angirasa and asked him to answer. His answer is Chapter 17.

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What this chapter teaches

  • Lamps are for everyone: the month praises the lamp at the tulasi, on the flagstaff and on a pillar.
  • Giving is the cure for greed: Dhanalobha's long fall begins with wealth he never shared.
  • Honour the guest: insulting those who came to his door is among his first faults.
  • Grace reaches even wood and stone: the sages see a post set free by a Pournami lamp.

How to read it today

  • Pick one time: after the morning bath, or in the evening after lighting the Karthika lamp. Keep the same time each day if you can.
  • Light a small lamp: ghee or sesame oil before your home shrine or tulasi. Never leave a flame unattended; in apartments keep it clear of curtains and smoke detectors.
  • Read or listen: say that you are reading adhyaya 16, then read it aloud from a Telugu edition your family trusts (about 15 to 30 minutes). One person can read while the family listens; the text praises listening as much as reading.
  • Today's small practice: if you can do it safely, place a lamp up high this evening, on a balcony, gate post or terrace, with a few grains of rice or sesame under it as the chapter describes, and never leave it unattended.
  • Close simply: offer a flower or a little prasadam, bow and say a short prayer.
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Printed editions do not always break the chapters at the same place, so a story may begin an adhyaya earlier or later in your book. If your book differs, follow your book. Our summary is a guide to the day's reading, not the text itself.

More on the high lamp: Akasha Deepam in Karthika Masam. Tithi and deepam time: Today in Karthika Masam 2026, Day 16.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Karthika Puranam Chapter 16 about?

The stambha deepam, or pillar lamp. Sages plant a wooden post before a Vishnu temple on Karthika Pournami and light a lamp on it; the post breaks open and a man steps out and tells of the greed of his past lives.

Who came out of the pillar?

In the Telugu chapter, a man who had been a wealthy Brahmin landlord named Dhanalobha. He gave nothing, insulted his guests and neglected the learned, and passed through many lower births, the last as a tree, before the lamp freed him.

How does Chapter 16 say an akasha deepam should be lit?

Pour some shali rice or sesame at the base of the lamp, then light it. In the story the sages pour rice on the post, set a vessel of cow's ghee on it, add a wick and light it.

What does Chapter 16 say about not lighting lamps?

Vasishtha says that those who can light a lamp but do not, or who mock those who do, are reborn as a shrew. It is the text's teaching, told to encourage the practice.

When is Karthika Puranam Chapter 16 read in 2026?

In India on Wednesday, 25 November 2026 (Krishna Pratipada). In the USA, UK and Canada, readers going one adhyaya a day from 9 November reach it on Tuesday, 24 November; check your local panchang.

Karthika Puranam chapters and Karthika Masam 2026 guides