Shloka 35

Devanagari script

ततः: सेनापति: शीघ्रमयं काल इति ब्रुवन्‌

Transliteration

tataḥ senāpatiḥ śīghram ayaṃ kāla iti bruvan

Translation

Then the commander, speaking quickly, declared, “This is Time (Death) itself,” conveying the grim moral certainty that in war the force of fate can appear embodied in a single, unstoppable moment.

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereupon
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/thereupon')

• सेनापतिः: the commander-in-chief
• सेनापतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेनापति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शीघ्रम्: quickly
• शीघ्रम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शीघ्र
• Form: Avyaya (adverbial accusative)

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कालः: time; Death
• कालः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इति: thus; saying
• इति: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति
• Form: Avyaya (quotative particle)

• ब्रुवन्: saying; speaking
• ब्रुवन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• senāpati (the commander)
• kāla (Time/Death)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights Kāla—Time/Death—as an overriding power in the battlefield context, reminding that human prowess and plans are ultimately constrained by inevitability, and that ethical reflection in war must account for mortality and the limits of control.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a commander reacts with urgency and identifies what he sees as ‘Kāla’ itself—an expression of alarm and recognition that a decisive, destructive force has manifested in the unfolding battle.