Shloka 32
आवर्तमानमजरं विवर्तनं षण्णाभिकं द्वादशारं सुपर्व । यस्येदमास्ये परियाति विश्रृ तत् कालचक्रं निहितं गुहायाम्,जो निरन्तर घूमता रहता है, कभी जीर्ण या क्षीण नहीं होता, जो लोगोंकी आयुको क्षीण करता है, छः ऋतुएँ जिसकी नाभि हैं, बारह महीने जिसके अरे हैं, दर्शपौर्णमास आदि जिसके सुन्दर पर्व हैं; यह सम्पूर्ण विश्व जिसके मुँहमें भक्ष्य पदार्थके समान जाता है, वह कालचक्र बुद्धिरूपी गुहामें स्थित है (उसे जो जानता है, देवगण उसके शुभकर्मकी प्रशंसा करते हैं)
āvartamānam ajaraṁ vivartanaṁ ṣaṇṇābhikaṁ dvādaśāraṁ suparva | yasyedam āsye pariyāti viśvaṁ tat kālacakraṁ nihitaṁ guhāyām ||
Vyāsa said: “Ever turning, never aging, ceaselessly revolving—this is the Wheel of Time. The six seasons are its hub, the twelve months its spokes, and its well-jointed ‘nodes’ are the sacred observances such as the new- and full-moon rites. Into its mouth this entire universe passes as though it were food. That Wheel of Time is set within the cave of the inner intellect; one who truly knows it is praised by the gods for his auspicious conduct.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time is an unceasing, undecaying cosmic cycle that consumes all beings and events; wisdom lies in recognizing this inner truth (within the ‘cave’ of intellect) and aligning one’s conduct with dharma rather than clinging to what time inevitably carries away.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and right understanding, Vyāsa presents a vivid metaphor: time as a wheel structured by seasons, months, and ritual divisions, into which the whole world is drawn—urging the listener toward inner discernment and ethical steadiness.