Shloka 18
धृतराष्ट्र महाबाहुमब्रवीत् कुरुसंसदि । राजन् परीतकालास्ते पुत्रा: सर्वे परंतप
dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ mahābāhum abravīt kurusaṃsadi | rājan parītakālāste putrāḥ sarve paraṃtapa ||
Вайшампаяна сказал: В собрании куру он обратился к могучеруким Дхритараштре: «О царь, время обернулось против тебя; все твои сыновья, о жгущий врагов, стоят на краю предначертанного им конца.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethical logic of consequence: when adharma is persisted in, Kāla (the ripening of deeds) turns adverse, and even royal power cannot avert the destined outcome. It functions as a moral warning to a ruler to recognize responsibility and act before irreversible harm occurs.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that, in the Kuru court, Dhṛtarāṣṭra is addressed directly with a grave warning: the decisive time has arrived, and his sons are headed toward destruction—signaling the imminent escalation toward the Kurukṣetra war.