Shloka 4
अध्याय १: महाप्रस्थानारम्भः
The Commencement of the Great Departure
“महामते! काल ही सम्पूर्ण भूतोंको पका रहा है--विनाशकी ओर ले जा रहा है। अब मैं कालके बन्धनको स्वीकार करता हूँ। तुम भी इसकी ओर दृष्टिपात करो” ।। इत्युक्त: स तु कौन्तेयः काल: काल इति ब्रुवन् | अन्वपद्यत तद् वाकयं भ्रातुर्ज्येष्ठस्य धीमत:,भाईके ऐसा कहनेपर कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुनने “काल तो काल ही है, इसे टाला नहीं जा सकता” ऐसा कहकर अपने बुद्धिमान बड़े भाईके कथनका अनुमोदन किया
iti uktaḥ sa tu kaunteyaḥ kālaḥ kāla iti bruvan | anvapadyata tad vākyaṁ bhrātur jyeṣṭhasya dhīmataḥ ||
“O great-minded one! Kāla—Time—ripens all beings, bearing them toward destruction. Now I accept Time’s bond. You too, look upon it.” When these words were spoken, Arjuna, Kuntī’s son, replied, “Time is indeed Time; it cannot be averted.” Saying this, he assented to the statement of his wise eldest brother.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches lucid acceptance of Kāla (Time) as an inescapable cosmic law: all beings are ‘ripened’ toward dissolution, and wisdom lies in consenting to inevitability without clinging, aligning one’s mind with dharma and renunciation.
During the Mahāprasthāna (the great departure), the eldest brother speaks about the irresistible power of Time. Arjuna responds that ‘Time is Time’—it cannot be avoided—and he endorses his elder brother’s wise statement, signaling the brothers’ shared resolve to proceed without resistance.