Shloka 17
Daṇḍa as the Foundation of Social Order (दण्डप्रतिष्ठा)
हन्ता कालस्तथा वाउूुर्मुत्युवैंश्रवणो रवि: । वसवो मरुत:ः साध्या विश्वेदेवाक्ष भारत
hantā kālas tathā vāyur mṛtyur vaiśravaṇo raviḥ | vasavo marutaḥ sādhya viśvedevāś ca bhārata ||
Arjuna said: “O Bhārata, the slayer is Time; so too are the Wind, Death, Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera), and the Sun. Likewise the Vasus, the Maruts, the Sādhyas, and the Viśvedevas.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that destruction and change are governed by vast cosmic forces—Time, Death, and major deities—suggesting humility about individual control and an ethical awareness that human action unfolds within an overarching moral-cosmic order.
Arjuna speaks and lists powerful deities and cosmic principles associated with governance of the world—especially those linked to inevitability (Time, Death) and universal regulation—framing the discussion in terms of forces that transcend ordinary human power.