Shloka 56

कालनिर्णयः, युगधर्मवर्णनम्, सृष्टिक्रमश्च

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

Devanagari script

शचीपति इन्द्र! जैसे तुम हो, वैसे ही बल और पराक्रमसे सम्पन्न अनेक सहस्र इन्द्र समाप्त हो चुके हैं ।।

Transliteration

tvām apy atibalaṃ śakra devarājaṃ balotkaṭam | prāpta-kāle mahāvīryaḥ kālaḥ saṃśamayīṣyati ||

Translation

On dit à Indra, seigneur de Śacī : «Comme toi, des milliers d’Indra, pourvus de force et de vaillance, ont déjà atteint leur terme. Ô Śakra, tu te crois d’une puissance extrême, roi des dieux, farouche en vigueur ; mais lorsque l’heure fixée viendra, le Temps, d’une grande puissance, t’apaisera toi aussi.»

Word by Word

• {'tvām': 'you', 'api': 'also, even', 'atibalam': 'exceedingly strong, very powerful', 'śakra': 'Śakra

• Indra', 'devarājam': 'king of the gods', 'balotkaṭam': 'fierce/terrible in strength

• possessed of intense force', 'prāpta-kāle': 'when the time has come

• at the destined time', 'mahāvīryaḥ': 'of great valor/power

• mighty', 'kālaḥ': 'Time (also Death/fate as a cosmic force)', 'saṃśamayīṣyati': 'will pacify, will bring to rest/quiet, will subdue'}

Speaker

श॒क्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Śacīpati (husband of Śacī; Indra)
• Kāla (Time)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

No power or status—however divine—escapes Kāla (Time). The ethical lesson is to restrain pride, recognize impermanence, and act with humility and dharmic self-control.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker addresses Indra (Śakra), reminding him that countless Indras before him have perished and that, when the appointed time comes, Time itself will subdue even the king of the gods.