Shloka 49
Vidura’s Return; Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Departure; Nārada’s Instruction on Kāla and Detachment
सोऽयमद्य महाराज भगवान् भूतभावन: । कालरूपोऽवतीर्णोऽस्यामभावाय सुरद्विषाम् ॥ ४९ ॥
so ’yam adya mahārāja bhagavān bhūta-bhāvanaḥ kāla-rūpo ’vatīrṇo ’syām abhāvāya sura-dviṣām
O King, that very Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the benefactor of all beings, has now descended to the earth in the form of all-devouring Time (kāla-rūpa) to destroy the envious enemies of the devas.
There are two classes of human beings, namely the envious and the obedient. Since the Supreme Lord is one and the father of all living beings, the envious living beings are also His sons, but they are known as the asuras. But the living beings who are obedient to the supreme father are called devatās, or demigods, because they are not contaminated by the material conception of life. Not only are the asuras envious of the Lord in even denying the existence of the Lord, but they are also envious of all other living beings. The predominance of asuras in the world is occasionally rectified by the Lord when He eliminates them from the world and establishes a rule of devatās like the Pāṇḍavas. His designation as kāla in disguise is significant. He is not at all dangerous, but He is the transcendental form of eternity, knowledge and bliss. For the devotees His factual form is disclosed, and for the nondevotees He appears like kāla-rūpa, which is causal form. This causal form of the Lord is not at all pleasing to the asuras, and therefore they think of the Lord as formless in order to feel secure that they will not be vanquished by the Lord.
FAQs
This verse explains that the Supreme Lord manifests as Kāla (Time), which irresistibly brings change and dissolution—especially removing forces opposed to dharma.
Vidura was awakening Yudhishthira to the reality that the Lord, as Time, had begun the divine arrangement for departure and transformation, urging him toward detachment and spiritual focus.
Seeing Time as the Lord’s power helps one prioritize devotion and duty, reduce attachment to temporary situations, and accept inevitable change with spiritual clarity.