Shloka 203

अहो नु बलवद्‌ दैवं कालश्न दुरतिक्रम: । किसी कार्यको अन्य प्रकारसे सोचा जाता है, किंतु वह दैववश और ही प्रकारका हो जाता है। अहो! निश्चय ही दैव प्रबल और काल दुर्लड्घ्य है

aho nu balavad daivaṁ kālaś ca duratikramaḥ | kiṁcid kāryam anyathā cintyate, kintu tad daivavaśād anyathaiva bhavati | aho! niścayaṁ hi daivaṁ prabalaṁ kālaś ca durlaṅghyaḥ ||

Dhṛtarāṣṭra disse: “Ai de mim, quão poderoso é o destino, e quão impossível é transpor o Tempo. Planeja-se uma ação de um modo, mas, pela força da sorte, ela se realiza de maneira totalmente diversa. De fato, o destino é forte, e o Tempo não pode ser ultrapassado.”

अहोalas! / oh!
अहो:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअहो
नुindeed / surely (emphatic particle)
नु:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootनु
बलवत्powerful
बलवत्:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootबलवत्
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
दैवम्fate / divine dispensation
दैवम्:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootदैव
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
कालःtime (destiny)
कालः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootकाल
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
दुरतिक्रमःhard to overcome / insurmountable
दुरतिक्रमः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootदुरतिक्रम
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular

धृतराष्ट उवाच

D
Dhṛtarāṣṭra
D
Daiva (Fate)
K
Kāla (Time)

Educational Q&A

Human plans and intentions do not always determine outcomes; the verse stresses the overwhelming force of daiva (destiny) and kāla (time), urging humility and ethical steadiness amid uncertainty—especially in the moral chaos of war.

In Karṇa Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to unfolding battlefield events with grief and astonishment, reflecting that despite strategies and expectations, the war’s results are being driven by inexorable destiny and time.