Shloka 19
Dhruva Uses the Nārāyaṇāstra; Manu Checks His Wrath and Teaches Dharma
सोऽनन्तोऽन्तकर: कालोऽनादिरादिकृदव्यय: । जनं जनेन जनयन्मारयन्मृत्युनान्तकम् ॥ १९ ॥
so ’nanto ’nta-karaḥ kālo ’nādir ādi-kṛd avyayaḥ janaṁ janena janayan mārayan mṛtyunāntakam
My dear Dhruva, the Lord is Ananta, ever-existing; yet as Time He brings all things to their end. He has no beginning, though He is the beginning of everything, and He is inexhaustible though all else is exhausted. Living beings are born through the father and slain through death, but He remains eternally free from birth and death.
The supreme authority and inconceivable power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be minutely studied from this verse. He is always unlimited. That means that He has no creation or end. He is, however, death (in the form of time), as described in Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says, “I am death. I take away everything at the end of life.” Eternal time is also without beginning, but it is the creator of all creatures. The example is given of touchstone, which creates many valuable stones and jewels but does not decrease in power. Similarly, creation occurs many times, everything is maintained, and, after a time, everything is annihilated — but the original creator, the Supreme Lord, remains untouched and undiminished in power. The secondary creation is made by Brahmā, but Brahmā is created by the Supreme Godhead. Lord Śiva annihilates the whole creation, but at the end he is also annihilated by Viṣṇu. Lord Viṣṇu remains. In the Vedic hymns it is stated that in the beginning there is only Viṣṇu and that He alone remains at the end.
FAQs
This verse identifies the Supreme Lord as infinite and simultaneously as Kāla—Time—who brings all beings to their end while remaining beginningless and inexhaustible.
In the Dhruva narrative, the teaching emphasizes God’s complete sovereignty: He originates creation and also ends it through Time, showing that birth and death function under His control.
Remembering that Time ends everything fosters humility and detachment, encouraging one to prioritize dharma and bhakti over temporary achievements and enmities.