Shloka 32
कालपक्वमिदं मन्ये सर्व क्षत्र॑ जनार्दन । सर्वे हानुसृता मोहात् पार्थिवा: सह मन्सत्रिभि:,'जनार्दन! मैं समझता हूँ कि ये समस्त क्षत्रियगण कालसे पके हुए फलकी भाँति मौतके मुँहमें जानेवाले हैं। तभी तो ये सब-के-सब मोहवश अपने मन्त्रियोंक साथ दुर्योधनका अनुसरण करते हैं"
kālapakvam idaṃ manye sarvaṃ kṣatra janārdana | sarve hānusṛtā mohāt pārthivāḥ saha mantribhiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janārdana, I deem this entire warrior order to be like fruit ripened by Time—ready to fall into death. For, deluded by confusion, all these kings, together with their ministers, are following the course set by Duryodhana.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When leaders and their advisers act under moha (delusion), collective ruin follows. The verse frames impending destruction as ‘ripened by Time’ (kālapakva), warning that ethical blindness and misguided allegiance can make an entire ruling class rush toward death.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating events, addresses Kṛṣṇa as Janārdana and laments that the kṣatriyas and kings—along with their ministers—are aligning themselves with Duryodhana. This alignment is portrayed as a sign that Time has matured their fate toward the catastrophic war.