Shloka 17
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
धर्मश्न भगवान् देव: समाजम्मुर्हि सड़ता: । कालो यमश्न मृत्युश्न॒ यमस्यानुचराश्न ये
vaiśampāyana uvāca | dharmaś ca bhagavān devaḥ samājam iha saṅgataḥ | kālo yamaś ca mṛtyuś ca yamasya anucarāś ca ye | rudrair vasubhir ādityair aśvibhyāṃ ca vṛtaḥ prabhuḥ |
Vaiśampāyana dit : Là aussi parvint dans l’assemblée l’auguste dieu Dharma. Vinrent également Kāla (le Temps), Yama, Mṛtyu (la Mort) et les serviteurs de Yama. Le Seigneur se tenait entouré des Rudra, des Vasu, des Āditya et des deux Aśvin—signe que les événements à venir étaient observés et consacrés par les puissances cosmiques qui maintiennent l’ordre, la rétribution et l’inéluctable mortalité.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the war’s events under the gaze of cosmic principles: Dharma (moral order), Kāla (inevitable time/fate), Yama (justice), and Mṛtyu (death). It underscores that ethical consequence and mortality are inescapable, and that human action in war is judged within a larger moral-cosmic order.
Vaiśampāyana describes a grand divine gathering: Dharma arrives, accompanied by Time, Yama, Death, and Yama’s attendants, while the Lord is surrounded by major deity-groups (Rudras, Vasus, Ādityas, and the Aśvins). The scene heightens the solemnity of the moment, as if the gods themselves have convened to witness decisive events.