Shloka 40

Devanagari script

मां चेदभ्यागत: कालो दानवेश्वरपूजितम्‌ । गर्जन्तं प्रतपन्तं च कमन्यं नागमिष्यति,एक दिन मैं दानवेश्वरोंद्वारा पूजित था और मैं भी गर्जता तथा अपना प्रताप सर्वत्र फैलाता था। जब मुझपर भी कालका आक्रमण हुआ है, तब दूसरे किसपर वह आक्रमण नहीं करेगा?

Transliteration

māṃ ced abhyāgataḥ kālo dānaveśvara-pūjitam | garjantaṃ pratapantaṃ ca kam anyaṃ nāgamiṣyati ||

Translation

Si el Tiempo (kāla) ha caído incluso sobre mí—que antaño fui honrado por los señores de los Dānavas, rugiendo en voz alta y ardiendo de poder—¿a quién no alcanzará entonces? La enseñanza es clara: ni la fuerza, ni la fama, ni la reverencia pasada pueden amparar a nadie del alcance inevitable del Tiempo.

Word by Word

माम्me

चेत्if

अभ्यागतःhaving come upon / arrived

कालःTime; Death

दानवेश्वरपूजितम्worshipped by the lords of the Dānavas

गर्जन्तम्roaring

प्रतपन्तम्scorching; displaying might

चand

कम्whom?

अन्यम्another

नnot

आगमिष्यतिwill come/approach

Speaker

श॒क्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śakra (Indra)

Kāla (Time/Death)

Dānaveśvarāḥ (lords of the Dānavas)

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Time (Kāla) is irresistible and universal: even the powerful and celebrated are not exempt, so one should cultivate humility and detachment rather than pride in strength or status.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śakra (Indra) reflects on his own former glory—being honored even by demon-lords and displaying great might—yet admits that Time has overtaken him; he uses this to argue that no one else can escape Kāla.