Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 19
Nārada Instructs Dakṣa’s Sons; Allegory of the World; Dakṣa Curses Nārada
कालचक्रं भ्रमि तीक्ष्णं सर्वं निष्कर्षयज्जगत् । स्वतन्त्रमबुधस्येह किमसत्कर्मभिर्भवेत् ॥ १९ ॥
kāla-cakraṁ bhrami tīkṣṇaṁ sarvaṁ niṣkarṣayaj jagat svatantram abudhasyeha kim asat-karmabhir bhavet
[Nārada Muni had spoken of a physical object made of sharp blades and thunderbolts. The Haryaśvas understood this allegory as follows.] Eternal time moves very sharply, as if made of razors and thunderbolts. Uninterrupted and fully independent, it drives the activities of the entire world. If one does not try to study the eternal element of time, what benefit can he derive from performing temporary material activities?
This verse explains the words kṣaura-pavyaṁ svayaṁ bhrami, which especially refer to the orbit of eternal time. It is said that time and tide wait for no man. According to the moral instructions of the great politician Cāṇakya Paṇḍita:
FAQs
This verse says time is a sharp, ever-rotating force that carries everything in the world toward destruction, so worldly arrogance and sinful pursuits cannot produce lasting benefit.
Narada was instructing Daksha’s sons to awaken spiritual intelligence—reminding them that time devours all material plans, so one should not act foolishly as if independent, especially through impious karma.
Remembering time’s certainty helps prioritize dharma and bhakti over harmful shortcuts—choose actions with lasting spiritual value rather than temporary gains that end in loss.