Shloka 54
उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents
कालो<थयं पुत्ररूपेण तव जातो विशाम्पते । न वध: पूज्यते वेदे हितं॑ नैव कथंचन,“महाराज! यह काल तुम्हारे पुत्ररूपसे उत्पन्न हुआ है। वेदमें हिंसाकी प्रशंसा नहीं की गयी है। हिंसासे किसी प्रकार हित नहीं हो सकता
kālo ’thāyaṃ putrarūpeṇa tava jāto viśāmpate | na vadhaḥ pūjyate vede hitaṃ naiva kathaṃcana ||
“O lord of the people, this very Time has been born as your son. The Veda does not extol killing; and from violence, no true welfare can arise in any way.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames violence as ethically barren: even when events seem driven by ‘Time’ (kāla) and destiny, killing is not to be celebrated as a Vedic ideal, and genuine welfare (hita) cannot be founded on himsā.
Vaiśampāyana addresses a king, interpreting the king’s son as an embodiment of Kāla (Time/fate). The statement functions as a moral warning: the rise of destructive forces may appear inevitable, yet the tradition does not sanctify killing as praiseworthy, nor does it yield true good.