Shloka 326
मौसलपर्व — अध्याय ८
Arjuna’s evacuation of Dvārakā, Vasudeva’s rites, and the caravan’s crisis
भवन्ति भवकालेषु विपद्यन्ते विपर्यये । भरतनन्दन! जब उद्धवका समय आता है तब इसी प्रकार मनुष्यकी बुद्धि, तेज और ज्ञानका विकास होता है और जब विपरीत समय उपस्थित होता है तब इन सबका नाश हो जाता है
bhavanti bhavakāleṣu vipadyante viparyaye | bharatanandana! yadā uddhavasya samaya āyāti tadā evaṃvidhaṃ manuṣyasya buddhi-tejaḥ-jñānasya vikāsaḥ bhavati, yadā ca viparītaḥ samayaḥ upasthitaḥ bhavati tadā eṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ nāśo bhavati |
भरतनन्दन! यदा भवकालेषु शुभः कालः समुपस्थितो भवति—यथा उद्धवस्य नियतः समयः—तदा मनुष्यस्य बुद्धिः तेजो ज्ञानं च स्वयमेव प्रवर्धते; यदा तु विपरीतः कालः समुपतिष्ठते, तदा तेषामेव नाशो भवति।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human capacities—discernment (buddhi), vitality (tejas), and knowledge (jñāna)—are not constant; they flourish in favorable time and collapse in adverse time. The verse emphasizes the sovereignty of kāla (time) over worldly success and even over mental excellence.
Vyāsa addresses a Kuru descendant (“Bharatanandana”) and explains that the rise of insight and power in a person occurs when their destined favorable moment arrives—illustrated by reference to Uddhava’s appointed time—whereas in a reversed or hostile time those same qualities are lost.