Shloka 64
अर्जुनस्य अन्त्येष्टि, द्वारकाप्लावनम्, कलिप्रवेशः, कालोपदेशः
त्वयैकेन हता भीष्मद्रोणकर्णादयो नृपाः तेषाम् अर्जुन कालोत्थः किं न्यूनाभिभवो न सः
tvayaikena hatā bhīṣmadroṇakarṇādayo nṛpāḥ teṣām arjuna kālotthaḥ kiṃ nyūnābhibhavo na saḥ
তুমি একাই ভীষ্ম, দ্রোণ, কর্ণ প্রভৃতি রাজাদের পতিত করেছিলে। তবে হে অর্জুন, তাদের পরাভব কি কালেরই উদ্ভূত বিজয় নয়—যাতে কোনো ঘাটতি, কোনো অসম্পূর্ণতা ছিল?
Sage Parāśara (narrating within the Vishnu Purana’s royal-history discourse to Maitreya)
FAQs
The verse presents the fall of even the greatest warriors as ultimately ‘kālottha’—arising from Time—highlighting destiny and cosmic order as the deeper cause behind historical victory and defeat.
Parāśara credits Arjuna’s agency (“by you alone”), yet immediately interprets the outcome as Time-born, implying that personal effort operates within a larger, governing principle of fate and moral order.
In the Vishnu Purana, Kāla and the ordering of events are ultimately grounded in the Supreme Reality; the verse’s emphasis on Time as decisive aligns with Vishnu’s overarching sovereignty that upholds and directs the world-process.