Shloka 21

कालनिर्णयः, युगधर्मवर्णनम्, सृष्टिक्रमश्च

Time-Reckoning, Yuga-Dharma, and the Sequence of Creation

Devanagari script

नास्य द्वीप: कुतः पारो नावार: सम्प्रदृश्यते । नान्तमस्य प्रपश्यामि विधेर्दिव्यस्य चिन्तयन्‌

Transliteration

śakra uvāca | nāsya dvīpaḥ kutaḥ pāro nāvāraḥ sampradṛśyate | nāntam asya prapaśyāmi vidher divyasya cintayan |

Translation

Para este (poderoso curso del Tiempo) no hay isla de refugio—¿cómo, entonces, alcanzar una orilla más allá? No se ve límite alguno. Aun cuando medito la ordenanza divina que rige el mundo, no logro percibir su fin.

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अस्य: of this/its
• अस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, singular

• द्वीपः: island
• द्वीपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वीप
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• कुतः: whence? how then?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुतः

• पारः: far shore, crossing
• पारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अवारः: this shore/near bank (lit. not-far-shore); a limit on this side
• अवारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवार
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• सम्प्रदृश्यते: is seen, appears
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + प्र + दृश्
• Form: present, passive (ātmanepada-form in passive sense), third, singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अन्तम्: end, limit
• अन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• अस्य: of this/its
• अस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, singular

• प्रपश्यामि: I see clearly, I perceive
• प्रपश्यामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + पश्य् (दृश्)
• Form: present, parasmaipada, first, singular

• विधेः: of the ordainer/creator; of fate
• विधेः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधि
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• दिव्यस्य: divine
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• चिन्तयन्: thinking, reflecting
• चिन्तयन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: चिन्त्
• Form: present active participle (śatṛ), masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

श॒क्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• divine ordinance (vidhi)
• Time (implied by the metaphor of an ocean-like, shoreless force)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the king of the gods admits the limits of power and knowledge before the vastness of Time and the divine order (vidhi). The verse urges humility and steadiness in dharma: one should act rightly without imagining complete control over outcomes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śakra (Indra) speaks reflectively, using the image of a shoreless ocean to describe the inexhaustible, ungraspable nature of the divine ordinance—often understood as the working of Time and fate—confessing that he cannot discern its boundaries or end.