Shloka 146
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
त्रीण्यर्पितान्यत्र शतानि मध्ये षष्टिश्व नित्यं चरति ध्रुवेडस्मिन् । चक्रे चतुर्विशतिपर्वयोगे षड् वै कुमारा: परिवर्तयन्ति,यह जो अविनाशी कालचक्र निरन्तर चल रहा है, इसके भीतर तीन सौ साठ अरे हैं, चौबीस पर्व हैं और इस चक्रको छः कुमार घुमा रहे हैं
trīṇy arpitāny atra śatāni madhye ṣaṣṭiś ca nityaṃ carati dhruve ’smin | cakre caturviśati-parva-yoge ṣaḍ vai kumārāḥ parivartayanti ||
Dijo Rāma: «Dentro de esta firme e imperecedera rueda del Tiempo, que gira sin cesar, hay trescientos sesenta radios. Unida por veinticuatro “articulaciones” (divisiones), esta rueda es vuelta una y otra vez por seis potencias juveniles.»
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time operates as an impersonal, orderly cycle with fixed measures (360 and 24 divisions), driven by governing forces; recognizing this encourages disciplined living and humility before cosmic law (dharma) rather than complacency.
The speaker (Rāma) describes a cosmological image: an imperishable wheel of Time that constantly turns, structured by numerical divisions and set in motion by six ‘kumāras’ (youthful powers/agents), to explain the regulated progression of the world.