Shloka 4
अध्याय १: महाप्रस्थानारम्भः
The Commencement of the Great Departure
“महामते! काल ही सम्पूर्ण भूतोंको पका रहा है--विनाशकी ओर ले जा रहा है। अब मैं कालके बन्धनको स्वीकार करता हूँ। तुम भी इसकी ओर दृष्टिपात करो” ।।
iti uktaḥ sa tu kaunteyaḥ kālaḥ kāla iti bruvan | anvapadyata tad vākyaṁ bhrātur jyeṣṭhasya dhīmataḥ ||
「おお、大いなる知恵ある者よ。カーラ（時）はあらゆる生きとし生けるものを熟させ—滅びへと運んでいる。いま私はカーラの束縛を受け入れる。汝もまたそれを見よ。」その言葉が語られると、クンティーの子アルジュナは答えた。「時はまさしく時である。これを避けることはできぬ。」そう言って、賢き長兄の言葉に同意した。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches lucid acceptance of Kāla (Time) as an inescapable cosmic law: all beings are ‘ripened’ toward dissolution, and wisdom lies in consenting to inevitability without clinging, aligning one’s mind with dharma and renunciation.
During the Mahāprasthāna (the great departure), the eldest brother speaks about the irresistible power of Time. Arjuna responds that ‘Time is Time’—it cannot be avoided—and he endorses his elder brother’s wise statement, signaling the brothers’ shared resolve to proceed without resistance.