Shloka 29
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
समेतास्तत्र वै देशे तत्रैव निधनं गता: । कौरवान् कारण कृत्वा कालेनाद्भधुतकर्मणा,अदभुत कर्म करनेवाले कालकी प्रेरणासे समन्तपंचकक्षेत्रमें कौरवोंको निमित्त बनाकर इतनी सेनाएँ इकट्टी हुईं और वहीं नाशको प्राप्त हो गयीं
sametās tatra vai deśe tatraiva nidhanaṃ gatāḥ | kauravān kāraṇaṃ kṛtvā kālenādbhuta-karmaṇā ||
In that very region they assembled, and in that very place they met their destruction. Making the Kauravas the immediate occasion, Kāla—Time, whose workings are wondrous and irresistible—brought it about that such vast armies gathered at Samantapañcaka and perished there. The verse frames the catastrophe as the convergence of human agency and the larger moral-cosmic force of Kāla.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a Mahābhārata theme: human groups may appear to act from immediate causes (here, the Kauravas as the occasion), yet the larger unfolding is governed by Kāla—Time as an overpowering cosmic-moral force—so that mass violence culminates in inevitable ruin.
It states that many forces/armies gathered in a particular region (associated with Samantapañcaka) and were destroyed there; the Kauravas are presented as the proximate trigger, while Kāla is presented as the deeper driver behind the convergence and annihilation.