Shloka 24
Strī Parva, Adhyāya 2 — Vidura’s Consolation on Kāla, Karma, and the Limits of Lamentation (विदुरोपदेशः)
काल: पचति भूतानि काल: संहरते प्रजा: । काल: सुप्तेषु जागर्ति कालो हि दुरतिक्रम:,काल ही प्राणियोंको पकाता है, काल ही प्रजाओंका संहार करता है और काल ही सबके सो जानेपर भी जागता रहता है। कालका उल्लंघन करना बहुत ही कठिन है
kālaḥ pacati bhūtāni kālaḥ saṃharate prajāḥ | kālaḥ supteṣu jāgarti kālo hi duratikramaḥ ||
Vidura declares that Time is the unseen power that ripens all beings, and Time alone brings peoples to their end. Even when everyone lies asleep, Time remains awake and at work. Therefore, to overstep or evade Time is exceedingly difficult—an ethical reminder to accept inevitability, restrain pride, and act with sobriety amid grief and ruin.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time (kāla) is irresistible: it matures all beings and eventually ends all lives and communities. The verse urges humility and clear-sighted acceptance of impermanence, discouraging arrogance, denial, or the belief that one can escape consequences and mortality.
In the Stree Parva’s aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, Vidura speaks in a consolatory and admonitory tone. He frames the devastation and death within the larger, inexorable working of Time, guiding listeners toward restraint, reflection, and dharmic composure amid collective mourning.