Shloka 50
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
मृत्युरुवाच प्रचोदितो5हं कालेन पन्नग त्वामचूचुदम् । विनाशहेतुर्नास्य त्वमहं न प्राणिन: शिशो:
mṛtyur uvāca | pracodito 'haṃ kālena pannaga tvām acūcudam | vināśahetur nāsya tvaṃ ahaṃ na prāṇinaḥ śiśoḥ |
Der Tod sprach: „Vom Zeitlauf gedrängt, o Schlange, habe ich dich zum Biss angetrieben. Darum bist weder du noch ich die wahre Ursache für den Untergang dieses Säuglingswesens.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse shifts moral blame away from the immediate instrument (the serpent) and even from Death, asserting that Kāla (Time/destiny) is the overriding force behind events; it invites reflection on causality, karma, and the limits of personal agency.
In a dialogue framed within Bhīṣma’s instruction, Death personified addresses a serpent, explaining that the serpent’s bite occurred because Time impelled it, and thus neither the serpent nor Death should be seen as the direct cause of the infant’s demise.