Shloka 54
Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
पूजन्युवाच यदि काल: प्रमाणं ते न वैरं कस्यचिद् भवेत् । कस्मात् त्वपचितिं यान्ति बान्धवा बान्धवै्हतै:
Brahmadatta uvāca: yadi kālaḥ pramāṇaṃ te na vairaṃ kasyacid bhavet | kasmāt tv apacitiṃ yānti bāndhavā bāndhavair hataiḥ ||
Pujanī berkata: “Wahai Raja, jika menurut pandanganmu Kala—Waktu—saja yang menjadi ukuran penentu di balik segala perbuatan, maka seharusnya tak seorang pun memendam permusuhan terhadap siapa pun. Lalu mengapa, bila kerabat dibunuh oleh kerabat, sanak-saudaranya mencari pembalasan?”
ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse challenges a fatalistic view that makes Time the sole cause of actions. If everything is only ‘Time’s doing,’ moral agency collapses and enmity or retaliation becomes irrational. The question presses the listener to account for human responsibility and ethical judgment even amid claims of destiny.
Brahmadatta interrogates an argument that attributes all deeds to Time. He points to a lived social reality—kinsmen retaliate when relatives are killed—and asks why such retribution persists if no individual can be held responsible beyond the workings of Time.