Shloka 20
मौसलोत्पत्तिः — The Birth of the Musala and the Sages’ Pronouncement
विमृशन्नेव काल॑ तं॑ परिचिन्त्य जनार्दन: । मेने प्राप्त स षट्त्रिंशं वर्ष वै केशिसूदन:,इस प्रकार समयका विचार करते हुए केशिहन्ता श्रीकृष्णने जब उसका विशेष चिन्तन किया, तब उन्हें मालूम हुआ कि महाभारतयुद्धके बाद यह छत्तीसवाँ वर्ष आ पहुँचा
vimṛśann eva kālaṁ taṁ paricintya janārdanaḥ | mene prāptaṁ sa ṣaṭtriṁśaṁ varṣa vai keśisūdanaḥ ||
毗湿摩波耶那说道：阎那尔达那——诛杀凯希者——沉思那时序的流转，细加推究，便明白：自婆罗多大战之后，第三十六年已至。此偈凸显一种不可回避的道德氛围：时光使业果成熟，纵然主宰在世间的作为，也与既定的命运秩序相和而行。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kāla (time) as a decisive moral force: events mature according to an ordained sequence, and recognition of the right moment is part of wise—and in this context divine—governance of worldly affairs.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Kṛṣṇa, after carefully reflecting on the passage of time, realizes that the thirty-sixth year since the Mahābhārata war has arrived—an important marker in the Mausala Parva’s unfolding of the Yādavas’ final events.