Shloka 52
त्रिवर्गमूलनिश्चयः — Determining the Roots of Dharma, Artha, and Kāma
Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 123
जागर्ति काल: पूर्व च मध्ये चान्ते च भारत । ईश्वर: सर्वलोकस्य महादेव: प्रजापति:,भारत! यह कालरूप दण्ड सृष्टिके आदिमें, मध्यमें और अन्तमें भी जागता रहता है। यह सर्वलोकेश्वर महादेवका स्वरूप है। यही समस्त प्रजाओंका पालक है
jāgarti kālaḥ pūrvaṃ ca madhye cānte ca bhārata | īśvaraḥ sarvalokasya mahādevaḥ prajāpatiḥ ||
Vasuharoma said: “O Bhārata, Time remains ever awake—at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end. This Time, as the power that chastises and governs, is the very form of Mahādeva, the Lord of all worlds, the Prajāpati who sustains and orders all beings.”
वसुहरोम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time (Kāla) is an ever-vigilant cosmic power present at creation, continuance, and dissolution; recognizing it as the form of Mahādeva/Prajāpati frames ethical life within an unbreakable moral-cosmic order where all beings are subject to change and accountability.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and ultimate principles, Vasuharoma addresses the Bhārata listener and identifies Kāla as the sovereign force governing all worlds, equating it with Mahādeva and Prajāpati to emphasize divine oversight across all phases of existence.