Shloka 39

कालनिर्णयः, युगधर्मवर्णनम्, सृष्टिक्रमश्च

Time-Reckoning, Yuga-Dharma, and the Sequence of Creation

Devanagari script

परंतु यदि इस तरह काल मुझपर आक्रमण करके मेरे सिरपर सवार न होता तो मैं आज वज्ज लिये होनेपर भी तुम्हें केवल मुक्केसे मारकर धरतीपर गिरा देता ।।

Transliteration

na tu vikramakālo ’yaṃ śāntikālo ’yam āgataḥ | kālaḥ sthāpayate sarvaṃ kālaḥ pacati vai tathā ||

Translation

Nhưng đây không phải lúc phô bày dũng lực; thời của tự chế và an hòa đã đến. Chỉ có Thời gian mới đặt muôn loài vào những cảnh ngộ khác nhau, và cũng chỉ có Thời gian mới “nấu chín” họ—đưa đến độ chín, suy tàn và tan rã.

Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• tu: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu

• vikrama-kālaḥ: time for valor
• vikrama-kālaḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikrama-kāla
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: idam
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• śānti-kālaḥ: time of peace
• śānti-kālaḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: śānti-kāla
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: idam
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• āgataḥ: has come/arrived
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√gam
• Form: kta (past passive participle used predicatively), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• kālaḥ: Time (fate)
• kālaḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• sthāpayate: sets/establishes/places
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (causative: sthāpaya-)
• Form: Lat, Present indicative, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• sarvān: all (beings/people)
• sarvān: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• kālaḥ: Time
• kālaḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• pacati: cooks; ripens; wears down
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pac
• Form: Lat, Present indicative, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• vai: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai

• tathā: thus/so; likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā

Speaker

श॒क्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Kāla (Time)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even great power must submit to Kāla (Time). Ethical action includes recognizing when restraint is more appropriate than displaying strength; Time governs rise, stability, and decline for all beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Indra explains that the present moment is not suited for heroic aggression but for peace. He frames his choice not as weakness but as alignment with the cosmic order in which Time determines circumstances and outcomes.