Shloka 5
Strī Parva, Adhyāya 2 — Vidura’s Consolation on Kāla, Karma, and the Limits of Lamentation (विदुरोपदेशः)
अयुध्यमानो ग्रियते युध्यमानश्न जीवति । काल प्राप्प महाराज न कश्चिदतिवर्तते,महाराज! जो युद्ध नहीं करता, वह भी मर जाता है और जो संग्राममें जूझता है, वह भी जीवित बच जाता है। कालको पाकर कोई भी उसका उल्लंघन नहीं कर सकता
ayudhyamāno mriyate yudhyamānaś ca jīvati | kālaṃ prāpya mahārāja na kaścid ativartate ||
Vidura says: “O great king, one who does not fight still meets death, and one who fights may yet remain alive. When the appointed time arrives, no one can overstep it.” The saying shifts the focus from fear-driven avoidance to clear-sighted acceptance of destiny (kāla) and the limits of human control, urging steadiness and discernment in the face of war and loss.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Death is not avoided merely by refusing to fight; survival is not guaranteed even by fighting. Ultimately, when one’s destined time (kāla) arrives, no one can escape it—so one should act with steadiness and dharmic discernment rather than panic.
In the Strī Parva’s aftermath of the great war, Vidura counsels the king, using a stark maxim about battle and fate to frame the catastrophe: human choices matter, yet they operate within the inescapable boundary of kāla.