Shloka 55
Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
कस्माद देवासुरा: पूर्वमन्योन्यमभिजघ्निरे । यदि कालेन निर्याणं सुखं दु:खं भवाभवौ,यदि कालसे ही मृत्यु, दुःख-सुख और उन्नति अवनति आदिका सम्पादन होता है, तब पूर्वकालमें देवताओं और असुरों ने क्यों आपसमें युद्ध करके एक दूसरे का वध किया?
brahmadatta uvāca | kasmād devāsurāḥ pūrvam anyonyam abhijaghnire | yadi kālena niryāṇaṃ sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ bhavābhavau |
Brahmadatta said: “If departure from life, as well as happiness and sorrow, rise and fall—indeed all attainment and loss—are brought about by Time alone, then why did the gods and the asuras in former days strike one another down in battle? What purpose could violence serve if Time is the sole disposer of outcomes?”
ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical challenge: if Time (kāla) alone governs death, pleasure, pain, and rise or fall, then human (or divine) agency—especially violent action—seems purposeless. It invites reflection on how moral responsibility and effort can be meaningful even within a worldview that emphasizes kāla as a supreme force.
Brahmadatta questions a doctrine that attributes all outcomes to Time. He points to the ancient wars between devas and asuras as evidence: if Time alone determines victory, defeat, and death, why did they engage in mutual slaughter? The question presses the interlocutor to reconcile cosmic determinism with the observed reality of conflict and choice.