Shloka 55
Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
कस्माद देवासुरा: पूर्वमन्योन्यमभिजघ्निरे । यदि कालेन निर्याणं सुखं दु:खं भवाभवौ,यदि कालसे ही मृत्यु, दुःख-सुख और उन्नति अवनति आदिका सम्पादन होता है, तब पूर्वकालमें देवताओं और असुरों ने क्यों आपसमें युद्ध करके एक दूसरे का वध किया?
brahmadatta uvāca | kasmād devāsurāḥ pūrvam anyonyam abhijaghnire | yadi kālena niryāṇaṃ sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ bhavābhavau |
Brahmadatta dijo: «Si la partida de la vida, así como la dicha y el dolor, el ascenso y la caída—toda ganancia y toda pérdida—son obra del Tiempo únicamente, ¿por qué en tiempos antiguos los dioses y los asuras se abatieron unos a otros en batalla? ¿Qué propósito podría tener la violencia si el Tiempo es el único dispensador de los resultados?»
ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical challenge: if Time (kāla) alone governs death, pleasure, pain, and rise or fall, then human (or divine) agency—especially violent action—seems purposeless. It invites reflection on how moral responsibility and effort can be meaningful even within a worldview that emphasizes kāla as a supreme force.
Brahmadatta questions a doctrine that attributes all outcomes to Time. He points to the ancient wars between devas and asuras as evidence: if Time alone determines victory, defeat, and death, why did they engage in mutual slaughter? The question presses the interlocutor to reconcile cosmic determinism with the observed reality of conflict and choice.