Shloka 12
भीष्मस्य मध्याह्नयुद्धवर्णनम् / Mid-day Battle Description: Bhīṣma Engaged by the Pāñcālas
नायं यापयितुं कालो विद्यते माधव क्वचित्,“माधव! यह समयको व्यर्थ बितानेका अवसर नहीं है।” अर्जुनके ऐसा कहनेपर शत्रुवीरोंका विनाश करनेवाले केशवने वायुके समान वेगशाली उन श्वेत घोड़ोंको आगे बढ़ाया
nāyaṃ yāpayituṃ kālo vidyate mādhava kvacit
Sañjaya said: “O Mādhava, this is no time to be squandered—there is no occasion here for delay.” When Arjuna spoke thus, Keśava, the destroyer of hostile heroes, urged forward those white horses, swift as the wind, setting the chariot in motion toward the work of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses timely action aligned with duty: when the decisive moment arrives, one should not indulge in delay or indecision. In the ethical frame of the epic, this urgency supports steadfastness in one’s rightful responsibility (especially in a dharma-yuddha context).
Arjuna urges Kṛṣṇa (addressed as Mādhava) that there is no room for wasting time. In response, Kṛṣṇa (Keśava), famed as a slayer of enemy champions, drives the chariot forward by urging the swift white horses, moving into the next phase of the battle action.