Shloka 39
कालनिर्णयः, युगधर्मवर्णनम्, सृष्टिक्रमश्च
Time-Reckoning, Yuga-Dharma, and the Sequence of Creation
परंतु यदि इस तरह काल मुझपर आक्रमण करके मेरे सिरपर सवार न होता तो मैं आज वज्ज लिये होनेपर भी तुम्हें केवल मुक्केसे मारकर धरतीपर गिरा देता ।। न तु विक्रमकालो<5यं शान्तिकालोडयमागतः । काल: स्थापयते सर्व काल: पचति वै तथा,किंतु यह मेरे लिये पराक्रम प्रकट करनेका समय नहीं है; अपितु शान्त रहनेका समय आया है। काल ही सबको विभिन्न अवस्थाओंमें स्थापित करके सबका पालन करता है और काल ही सबको पकाता (क्षीण करता) है
na tu vikramakālo ’yaṃ śāntikālo ’yam āgataḥ | kālaḥ sthāpayate sarvaṃ kālaḥ pacati vai tathā ||
But this is not the time for displaying prowess; a time for restraint and peace has arrived. Time alone sets all beings in their respective conditions, and Time alone also “cooks” them—bringing them to ripeness, decline, and dissolution.
श॒क्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even great power must submit to Kāla (Time). Ethical action includes recognizing when restraint is more appropriate than displaying strength; Time governs rise, stability, and decline for all beings.
Indra explains that the present moment is not suited for heroic aggression but for peace. He frames his choice not as weakness but as alignment with the cosmic order in which Time determines circumstances and outcomes.