Shloka 29
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
समेतास्तत्र वै देशे तत्रैव निधनं गता: । कौरवान् कारण कृत्वा कालेनाद्भधुतकर्मणा,अदभुत कर्म करनेवाले कालकी प्रेरणासे समन्तपंचकक्षेत्रमें कौरवोंको निमित्त बनाकर इतनी सेनाएँ इकट्टी हुईं और वहीं नाशको प्राप्त हो गयीं
sametās tatra vai deśe tatraiva nidhanaṃ gatāḥ | kauravān kāraṇaṃ kṛtvā kālenādbhuta-karmaṇā ||
Dans cette même contrée ils s’assemblèrent, et en ce même lieu ils trouvèrent la mort. Prenant les Kauravas pour cause immédiate, Kāla—le Temps, dont l’œuvre est merveilleuse et irrésistible—fit que d’immenses armées se rassemblassent à Samantapañcaka et y périssent. Le vers peint le désastre comme la rencontre de l’action humaine et de la puissance morale et cosmique de Kāla.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a Mahābhārata theme: human groups may appear to act from immediate causes (here, the Kauravas as the occasion), yet the larger unfolding is governed by Kāla—Time as an overpowering cosmic-moral force—so that mass violence culminates in inevitable ruin.
It states that many forces/armies gathered in a particular region (associated with Samantapañcaka) and were destroyed there; the Kauravas are presented as the proximate trigger, while Kāla is presented as the deeper driver behind the convergence and annihilation.