Shloka 20
Adhyātma-krama: Indriya–Manas–Buddhi–Ātman Hierarchy and Citta-Prasāda (आध्यात्मक्रमः)
यच्चेदं प्रभव: स्थान भूतानां संयमो यम: । स्वभावेनैव वर्तन्ते द्वन्द्रसृष्टानि भूरिश:
yaccedaṃ prabhavaḥ sthānaṃ bhūtānāṃ saṃyamo yamaḥ | svabhāvenaiva vartante dvandrasṛṣṭāni bhūriśaḥ ||
Vyāsa berkata: “Prinsip yang disebut Waktu (Kāla) itulah sumber dan landasan keberadaan makhluk; ia pula yang mengekang dan memerintah (yama). Di dalamnya, tak terhitung makhluk—lahir di bawah pasangan-pasangan yang berlawanan—bertindak menurut kodratnya sendiri.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time (Kāla) is presented as the overarching principle that brings beings forth, provides their ground of existence, and regulates them; within this framework, creatures act according to their inherent nature (svabhāva) amid the play of opposites (dvandva).
In the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa explains a metaphysical view: the world of living beings is governed by Time, and the diversity of conduct and experience arises naturally from svabhāva under the conditions of dualities.