Shloka 68

Devanagari script

काल: प्रथममायान्मां पश्चात्‌ त्वामनुधावति

Transliteration

kālaḥ prathamam āyān māṃ paścāt tvām anudhāvati

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “Time came for me first; afterward it pursues you as well.”

Word by Word

• कालः: Time (Death)
• कालः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रथमम्: first; at first
• प्रथमम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रथम
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आयात्: came
• Type: Verb
• Root: या
• Form: Aorist (simple aorist), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Accusative, Singular

• पश्चात्: afterwards; then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पश्चात्

• त्वाम्: you
• त्वाम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Accusative, Singular

• अनुधावति: runs after; pursues
• Type: Verb
• Root: धाव्
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kāla (Time/Death)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Kāla (Time/Death) is unavoidable and impartial: it reaches one person first and then inevitably comes for others. Therefore one should live with dharma, humility, and detachment, not relying on power, youth, or status.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, speaking as a moral instructor in the Śānti Parva, reminds his listener that his own end came earlier and that the same force of Time now follows the listener too—framing the discussion in terms of urgency for righteous living and sober reflection.