Shloka 18
उद्योगपर्व (अध्याय १२९) — केशवस्य वैभवप्रदर्शनम् / Krishna’s Theophanic Display in the Kuru Assembly
धृतराष्ट्र महाबाहुमब्रवीत् कुरुसंसदि । राजन् परीतकालास्ते पुत्रा: सर्वे परंतप
dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ mahābāhum abravīt kurusaṃsadi | rājan parītakālāste putrāḥ sarve paraṃtapa ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Sa kapulungan ng mga Kuru, hinarap niya ang makapangyarihang si Dhṛtarāṣṭra at sinabi: “O Hari, tumalikod na sa iyo ang panahon; ang lahat ng iyong mga anak—o tagasunog ng mga kaaway—ay nasa gilid na ng itinakdang wakas.”
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.