Mahabharata 16.8.33 — Mausala Parva, Adhyaya 8, Shloka 33
मौसलपर्व — अध्याय ८
Arjuna’s evacuation of Dvārakā, Vasudeva’s rites, and the caravan’s crisis
कालमूलमिदं सर्व जगद्वीजं धनंजय
kālamūlam idaṃ sarvaṃ jagadbījaṃ dhanaṃjaya
Vyāsa said: “O Dhanañjaya, all this—this entire manifested world—has Time as its root; Time is the seed from which the world arises.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that Time (kāla) is the fundamental ground of worldly existence: it is both the root-cause that underlies all change and the ‘seed’ that brings forth the manifested world. Ethically, it encourages humility and detachment—recognizing that human power and achievements are ultimately subject to Time.
In the Mausala Parva’s reflective aftermath of the Yādava destruction and the waning of the Kṛṣṇa-era, Vyāsa addresses Arjuna (Dhanañjaya) with a sobering metaphysical explanation: the upheavals they witness are not random but unfold under the sovereignty of Time, which governs rise and fall in the world.
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