Shloka 52
Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
कुछ लोग एक साथ ही मारे जाते हैं; कुछ एक-एक करके मरते हैं और बहुत-से लोग दीर्घकालतक मरते ही नहीं हैं। जैसे आग ईंधनको पाकर उसे जला देती है, उसी प्रकार काल ही समस्त प्राणियोंको दग्ध कर देता है ।।
brāhmadatta uvāca |
kecid yugapad eva hanyante; kecid ekaikaśo mriyante; bahavaś ca dīrghakālaṃ naiva mriyante | yathā agnir indhanaṃ prāpya tad dahati, tathā kāla eva sarvaprāṇinaḥ dagdhān karoti ||
nāhaṃ pramāṇaṃ naiva tvam anyonyaṃ kāraṇaṃ śubhe |
kālo nityam upādatte sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ ca dehinām ||
婆罗摩达多说道：“有的人一时俱亡；有的人一个接一个地死去；也有许多人久久不死。正如火得其薪便焚尽之，时间（迦罗）亦如是，亲自吞噬一切众生。我们彼此之间所造的过失，并非你是真正的原因，我也不是。唯有时间恒常分配并促成有身众生的乐与苦。”
ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes Kāla (Time) as the overarching force that determines the arising of pleasure and pain and the timing of death. It counsels restraint from personal blame in mutual offenses, pointing toward detachment and a broader, dharmic understanding of causality.
Brahmadatta addresses a woman (“śubhe”), reflecting on how beings die in different ways and at different times. He reframes a conflict or wrongdoing between them by denying that either party is the ultimate cause, attributing outcomes to Kāla, the cosmic principle that governs embodied life.