Shloka 52
उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents
सृजते च पुनर्लोकान् नेह विद्यति शाश्वतम् । दो घड़ीतक चिन्तन करनेके बाद वे पुन: इस प्रकार बोले--'राजेन्द्र! इसमें संशय नहीं है कि काल ही इस जगत्का संहार करता है और वही पुनः इन सम्पूर्ण लोकोंकी सृष्टि करता है। यहाँ कोई वस्तु सदा रहनेवाली नहीं है ।। ५१ है ।। ज्ञातीनां वै कुरूणां च सम्बन्धिसुहृदां तथा,“राजन! तुम अपने जाति-भाई, कौरवों, सगे-सम्बन्धियों तथा हितैषी-सुहृदोंको धर्मानुकूल मार्गका उपदेश करो; क्योंकि तुम उन सबको रोकनेमें समर्थ हो। जाति-वधको अत्यन्त नीच कर्म बताया गया है। वह मुझे अत्यन्त अप्रिय है। तुम यह अप्रिय कार्य न करो
sṛjate ca punar lokān neha vidyati śāśvatam |
Vaiśampāyana said: “And Time again brings forth the worlds. In this realm, nothing is eternal.” After reflecting for a short while, he continued: “O best of kings, there is no doubt—Time alone destroys this universe, and Time alone creates all these worlds anew. Therefore, instruct your kinsmen—the Kurus—along with your relatives and well-wishers, in the path of dharma; for you are capable of restraining them. The slaughter of one’s own kin is declared a most base deed; it is deeply displeasing to me. Do not commit this hateful act.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes impermanence: nothing in the world is eternal, for Time (Kāla) both dissolves and recreates the worlds. On the ethical plane, it urges restraint and dharmic counsel—especially to prevent the ignoble act of slaughtering one’s own kin.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana reports a speaker reflecting briefly and then speaking again, asserting Time’s cosmic power over destruction and creation. He then turns to practical counsel addressed to a king: admonishing him to instruct and restrain the Kurus and other relatives, warning that kin-slaying is a reprehensible deed.