Shloka 12
Adhyāya 125: Raṅga-pradarśana — Arjuna’s Entry and Astric Demonstration (रङ्गप्रदर्शनम्)
स तया सह संगम्य भार्यया कुरुनन्दन: । पाण्डु: परमधर्मात्मा युयुजे कालधर्मणा,कुरुकुलको आनन्दित करनेवाले परम धर्मात्मा महाराज पाण्डु इस प्रकार अपनी धर्मपत्नी माद्रीसे समागम करके कालके गालमें पड़ गये
sa tayā saha saṅgamya bhāryayā kurunandanaḥ | pāṇḍuḥ paramadharmātmā yuyuje kāladharmaṇā ||
Pāṇḍu, penggembira wangsa Kuru dan yang sangat teguh pada dharma, setelah bersatu dengan istrinya, oleh hukum Kala pun dipertemukan dengan maut.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the supremacy of Kāla (Time) and the inevitability of mortality: even a king described as paramadharmātmā is subject to Time’s ordinance, and actions occur within a moral-causal order whose results ripen inexorably.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports that King Pāṇḍu, after uniting with his wife (contextually, Mādrī), is overtaken by death—expressed as being ‘joined’ to the law of Time—marking a decisive turn in the lineage narrative leading to the Pāṇḍavas’ upbringing without their father.