Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
त॑ विद्धि रुद्रं कौन्तेय देवदेवं कपर्दिनम् । काल: स एव कथित: क्रोधजेति मया तव
taṁ viddhi rudraṁ kaunteya devadevaṁ kapardinam | kālaḥ sa eva kathitaḥ krodhajeti mayā tava ||
你当知晓,噢,昆蒂之子:他就是鲁陀罗(Rudra)——诸神之神、结发之主。那同一位也被称为迦罗(Kāla,时间/死神),又被说作“由忿怒而生”;我已如此告知于你。
अर्जुन उवाच
The verse teaches the unity of divine power behind different names: Rudra (Śiva) is also Kāla (Time/Death) and is described as arising from wrath. It frames fearsome forces—anger, destruction, mortality—as aspects of a single cosmic lord, not random cruelty, thereby situating ethical reflection within a larger order.
Arjuna addresses a listener (implicitly within the Shānti-parvan’s didactic setting) and identifies the deity being discussed: he declares that the one in question should be understood as Rudra/Śiva, also called Kāla and ‘born of wrath.’ The speech functions as theological clarification through epithets.