Shloka 2.105.20

भरतस्य प्रार्थना—रामस्य कालधर्मोपदेशः (Bharata’s Petition and Rama’s Instruction on Time and Mortality)

Devanagari script

अहोरात्राणि गच्छन्ति सर्वेषां प्राणिनामिह।अायूंषि क्षपयन्त्याशु ग्रीष्मे जलमिवांशवः।।2.105.20।।

Transliteration

ahorātrāṇi gacchanti sarveṣāṃ prāṇinām iha | āyūṃṣi kṣapayanty āśu grīṣme jalam ivāṃśavaḥ ||2.105.20||

Translation

Days and nights pass for all living beings here, swiftly wearing down their lifespans—like sunrays in summer drying up water.

Context

The passing days and nights quickly decrease the life span of all living beings in this world, like sunrays drying up the water in summer.

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

It calls for purposeful living: since life is steadily consumed by time, dharma is to prioritize truth, duty, and self-mastery over wasteful grief.

What is the narrative situation?

A reflective teaching on time’s erosive power is offered to reframe sorrow within the inevitability of mortality.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Kāla-jñāna (awareness of time): using limited life for righteous ends.