Shloka 57
Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
प्रलाप: सुमहान् कस्मात् क्रियते शोकमूर्च्छितै: । यदि काल: प्रमाणं ते कस्माद् धर्मोडस्ति कर्तृषु
pralāpaḥ sumahān kasmāt kriyate śokamūrcchitaiḥ | yadi kālaḥ pramāṇaṃ te kasmād dharmo 'sti kartṛṣu ||
梵摩达多说道：“为何那些被悲痛击倒、几近昏厥的人，会发出如此巨大的哀号与呼喊？若在你们看来，唯有‘时间’才是最终的裁断，那么为何还要为行事之人设立法则——达摩，即应当做与不应当做的规范？”
ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse challenges a purely fatalistic view (“Time alone decides everything”). If everything is only Time’s doing, then human grief, blame, praise, and especially moral injunctions (dharma as do’s and don’ts) lose their meaning. The implied teaching is that ethical agency and responsibility must be acknowledged alongside any role attributed to Time.
Brahmadatta is arguing in a reflective, philosophical exchange typical of the Śānti Parva. He questions an interlocutor’s reliance on Kāla (Time) as the sole explanation for events, pointing to ordinary human reactions (intense lamentation in grief) and the very existence of dharma for agents as evidence that human choice and moral accountability are treated as real.