Shloka 65
Aśvatthāmā’s Stuti of Rudra and Śiva’s Empowerment (सौप्तिकपर्व, अध्याय ७)
कृतस्तस्यैव सम्मान: पज्चालान् रक्षता मया । अभिभूतास्तु कालेन नैषामद्यास्ति जीवितम्,'पांचालोंकी रक्षा करके मैंने श्रीकृष्णका ही सम्मान किया है; परंतु अब वे कालसे पराजित हो गये हैं, अब इनका जीवन शेष नहीं है”
kṛtas tasyaiva sammānaḥ pāñcālān rakṣatā mayā | abhibhūtās tu kālena naiṣām adyāsti jīvitam ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Dengan melindungi kaum Pāñcāla, sesungguhnya aku telah memuliakan Kṛṣṇa sendiri. Namun kini mereka telah ditundukkan oleh Kala, Sang Waktu; pada hari ini tiada lagi hayat yang tersisa bagi mereka.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames human effort and moral intention (protecting the Pāñcālas as an act of honoring Kṛṣṇa) against the overriding power of Kāla (Time/Fate). Even righteous protection and devotion cannot ultimately prevent mortality; ethical action is meaningful, yet outcomes remain subject to Time.
Sañjaya reports that he had guarded the Pāñcālas, considering that service as respect to Kṛṣṇa. He then declares that the Pāñcālas have now been overtaken by Kāla—implying their imminent or completed slaughter in the Sauptika events—so that no survival remains for them.