Mahabharata 11.2.24 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 2, Shloka 24
Strī Parva, Adhyāya 2 — Vidura’s Consolation on Kāla, Karma, and the Limits of Lamentation (विदुरोपदेशः)
काल: पचति भूतानि काल: संहरते प्रजा: । काल: सुप्तेषु जागर्ति कालो हि दुरतिक्रम:
kālaḥ pacati bhūtāni kālaḥ saṃharate prajāḥ | kālaḥ supteṣu jāgarti kālo hi duratikramaḥ ||
时间使众生成熟，时间也毁灭万民。众人皆睡之时，时间仍然醒着；时间实难逾越。
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time (kāla) is irresistible: it matures all beings and eventually ends all lives and communities. The verse urges humility and clear-sighted acceptance of impermanence, discouraging arrogance, denial, or the belief that one can escape consequences and mortality.
In the Stree Parva’s aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, Vidura speaks in a consolatory and admonitory tone. He frames the devastation and death within the larger, inexorable working of Time, guiding listeners toward restraint, reflection, and dharmic composure amid collective mourning.
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