Shloka 58
मन्ये पर्यायधर्मो5यं कालस्यात्यन्तगामिन: । चक्रे प्रधिरिवासक्तो नास्थ शक््यं पलायितुम्,मैं समझता हूँ कि अत्यन्त तीव्र गतिसे चलनेवाले कालका ही यह क्रमशः प्राप्त होनेवाला नियम है। इस कालचक्रमें उसकी नेमिके समान मैं जुड़ा हुआ हूँ, अतः मेरे लिये इससे दूर भागना सम्भव नहीं है
manye paryāyadharmo ’yaṃ kālasyātyantagāminaḥ | cakre pradhir ivāsakto nāsti śakyaṃ palāyitum ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “I think this is the inevitable, recurring law of Time, which moves with irresistible speed. Like the rim fixed to a turning wheel, I am bound to this cycle; therefore it is not possible for me to flee from it.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time (kāla) operates through an inescapable recurring order; when one is bound into that cycle—by circumstances, attachments, or past actions—mere wishing cannot provide escape. The verse highlights human limitation before kāla and implicitly urges timely ethical action rather than fatalistic delay.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects on the unfolding crisis leading toward war, sensing that events are being driven by the unstoppable momentum of Time. He describes himself as fastened to the wheel’s rim—carried along by the turning of circumstances—suggesting his inability (or unwillingness) to step away from the course events have taken.