Shloka 15

स्त्रीपर्व — नवमोऽध्यायः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra summons the Kuru women; the city departs in collective lamentation

Devanagari script

यथा वायुस्तृणाग्राणि संवर्तयति सर्वत: । तथा कालवशं यान्ति भूतानि भरतर्षभ,“भरतश्रेष्ठ) जैसे वायु तिनकोंको सब ओर उड़ाती और गिराती रहती है, उसी प्रकार सारे प्राणी कालके अधीन होकर आते-जाते रहते हैं

Transliteration

yathā vāyus tṛṇāgrāṇi saṃvartayati sarvataḥ | tathā kālavaśaṃ yānti bhūtāni bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “As the wind whirls and scatters the tips of grass in every direction, so too all beings, overpowered by Time, are driven along—coming and going without mastery over their course.”

Word by Word

यथाjust as

वायुःwind

तृणाग्राणिtips/ends of grass (blades of grass)

संवर्तयतिrolls up / whirls about / drives together

सर्वतःfrom all sides / everywhere

तथाso / in the same way

कालवशम्under the control of Time

यान्तिgo / proceed

भूतानिbeings / creatures

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas (O best of Bharatas)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kāla (Time)

Vāyu (wind)

Bhūtāni (all beings)

Bharatarṣabha (address to a Bharata)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that all beings are subject to Kāla (Time): like grass blown by wind, life’s movements—arrival, departure, rise, and fall—are not fully under personal control. Ethically, it supports humility, restraint in blame, and acceptance amid loss.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Strī Parva’s lamentation context after the war, Vaiśampāyana conveys a consolatory reflection: the devastation and deaths are framed within the overpowering force of Time, using a vivid natural metaphor to explain the inevitability of change and mortality.