Shloka 20
“निश्चय ही इस पृथ्वीपर किसीको भी कालसे छुटकारा नहीं मिलता, तभी तो इस प्रकार अपनी सेनाका संहार होनेपर भी दुर्योधन युद्धके लिये खड़ा है, उसे देखिये। आजके दिन महाराज युधिष्ठिर शत्रुहीन हो जायँगे ।। नहि मे मोक्ष्यते कश्चित् परेषामिह चिन्तये । ये त्वद्य समरं कृष्ण न हास्यन्ति मदोत्कटा:
niścaya hi asmin pṛthivyāṁ kasyacid api kālāt mucyate na; tasmād evaṁ svāṁ senāṁ saṁhṛtām api dṛṣṭvā duryodhanaḥ yuddhāya tiṣṭhati—taṁ paśyata. adya dine mahārāja yudhiṣṭhiraḥ śatru-hīnaḥ bhaviṣyati. na hi me mokṣyate kaścit pareṣām iha cintaye; ye tv adya samaraṁ kṛṣṇa na hāsyanti madotkaṭāḥ.
Sanjaya said: “Truly, on this earth no one at all escapes the grasp of Time. That is why Duryodhana, even after seeing his own army destroyed, still stands ready for battle—look at him. Today King Yudhishthira will become free of enemies. As for me, I do not expect anyone here to be spared; I think only of the fate of the others. Those who, intoxicated with pride, will not abandon the fight today, O Krishna, are rushing toward their end.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the inevitability of Kāla (Time/Death): no one escapes it. It also critiques mada (pride) that drives warriors to persist in violence even when ruin is evident, contrasting cosmic inevitability with human delusion and stubbornness.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that despite catastrophic losses, Duryodhana still stands ready to fight. He foresees that the day will end with Yudhishthira effectively free of enemies, as those who refuse to withdraw from battle out of pride will be destroyed.