Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 93
काल प्राप्प महाबाहो न कश्िदतिवर्तते । “महाबाहो! मैं एक दिन ग्यारह अक्षौहिणी सेनाका स्वामी था; परंतु आज इस दशामें आ पड़ा हूँ। वास्तवमें कालको पाकर कोई उसका उल्लंघन नहीं कर सकता
kālaṃ prāpya mahābāho na kaścid ativartate |
Sanjaya berkata: “Wahai yang berlengan perkasa, ketika Waktu (Kāla) telah tiba, tak seorang pun dapat melampauinya. Bahkan dia yang dahulu memerintah sebelas akṣauhiṇī pun dapat jatuh ke keadaan seperti ini; sebab sungguh, titah Waktu tak dapat dilanggar.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the inevitability of Kāla (Time/fate): when its moment arrives, no human power, status, or military strength can override it. It urges humility and recognition of limits within dharma and worldly ambition.
Sañjaya, narrating the war’s grim outcome, underscores to his listener that catastrophic reversals—such as a former lord of vast armies falling into ruin—occur because Time has turned. The line frames the unfolding defeat as part of an inescapable cosmic order.