Shloka 12
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
ब्रह्मोवाच विलय: समयस्यान्ते मरणं जीवितस्य च । इति वित्त वधोपायं कज्चिदेव निशाम्यत ।।
brahmovāca—vilayaḥ samayasya ante maraṇaṁ jīvitasya ca | iti vitta vadhopāyaṁ kañcid eva niśāmyata ||
Brahmā bersabda: “Pada akhir waktu yang ditetapkan, peleraian (pralaya) datang; dan bagi yang hidup, kematian pun pasti. Pahamilah ini baik-baik, wahai Dāitya; lalu tentukanlah suatu cara—suatu sebab—yang kelak dapat menjadi sarana kehancuran itu.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time sets a limit to all conditioned existence: dissolution and death are inevitable. Therefore, one should face reality without delusion and act with clear discernment about causes and means (upāya), rather than imagining permanence.
Brahmā instructs the listener to recognize the certainty of death and dissolution when the destined time is complete, and then to identify a concrete means or occasion by which a foretold destruction can occur—framing the next action as dependent on time and proper instrumentality.