Shloka 17
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
धर्मश्न भगवान् देव: समाजम्मुर्हि सड़ता: । कालो यमश्न मृत्युश्न॒ यमस्यानुचराश्न ये
vaiśampāyana uvāca | dharmaś ca bhagavān devaḥ samājam iha saṅgataḥ | kālo yamaś ca mṛtyuś ca yamasya anucarāś ca ye | rudrair vasubhir ādityair aśvibhyāṃ ca vṛtaḥ prabhuḥ |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。そこへまた、尊き法神ダルマも会座に到来した。さらにカーラ（時）、ヤマ、ムリティユ（死）、そしてヤマの従者たちも来集した。主はルドラ、ヴァス、アーディティヤ、双子のアシュヴィンに囲まれて立ち—これから展開する出来事が、秩序と報いと死の必然を司る宇宙の権能によって見届けられ、是認されていることを示していた。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the war’s events under the gaze of cosmic principles: Dharma (moral order), Kāla (inevitable time/fate), Yama (justice), and Mṛtyu (death). It underscores that ethical consequence and mortality are inescapable, and that human action in war is judged within a larger moral-cosmic order.
Vaiśampāyana describes a grand divine gathering: Dharma arrives, accompanied by Time, Yama, Death, and Yama’s attendants, while the Lord is surrounded by major deity-groups (Rudras, Vasus, Ādityas, and the Aśvins). The scene heightens the solemnity of the moment, as if the gods themselves have convened to witness decisive events.