Devanagari
कालो बलीयान् बलिनां भगवानीश्वरोऽव्यय: ।
प्रजा: कालयते क्रीडन् पशुपालो यथा पशून् ॥ १९ ॥
Verse text
kālo balīyān balināṁ
bhagavān īśvaro ’vyayaḥ
prajāḥ kālayate krīḍan
paśu-pālo yathā paśūn
Synonyms
kālaḥ
—
time
;
balīyān
—
more powerful
;
balinām
—
than the powerful
;
bhagavān īśvaraḥ
—
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
avyayaḥ
—
inexhaustible
;
prajāḥ
—
mortal creatures
;
kālayate
—
causes to move
;
krīḍan
—
playing
;
paśu
—
pālaḥ — a herdsman
;
yathā
—
as
;
paśūn
—
domestic animals .
Translation
“Inexhaustible time, stronger than the strong, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Like a herdsman moving his animals along, He moves mortal creatures as His pastime.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
"Inexhaustible time, stronger than the strong, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Like a herdsman moving his animals along, He moves mortal creatures as His pastime.
KB 10.51.19
“The influence of time is very strong. Time is so powerful because it is a representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; time is therefore stronger than the strongest. The influence of time can effect changes in subtle things without difficulty. No one can check the progess of time. As an animal tamer tames animals according to his will, time also adjusts things according to its own will. No one can supersede the arrangement made by supreme time.”
Purport
The universe is created to gradually rectify the contaminated souls trying to exploit material nature. The Lord moves the conditioned souls along, according to their
karma,
through the various stages of spiritual rectification. Thus the Lord is like a herdsman (the word
paśu-pāla
literally means “protector of animals”), who moves the creatures under his protection to various pastures and watering spots in order to protect them and sustain them. A further analogy is that of a doctor, who moves the patient under his care to various areas of a hospital for diverse kinds of examination and treatment. Similarly, the Lord brings us through the network of material existence in a gradual cleansing process so that we can enjoy our eternal life of bliss and knowledge as His enlightened associates. Thus all of Mucukunda’s relatives, friends and co-workers had long ago been swept away by the force of time, which of course is Kṛṣṇa Himself.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Who has made them move? This verse answers: time.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Time is called bhagavān since it is non-different from the Lord as his śakti. Thus time is called the controller (īśvaraḥ). It is never exhausted (avyayaḥ). It is a continuous flow without beginning or end. It leads (kālayate) all beings. What is its purpose? It is its play. This shows time’s power. It is like a herdsman herding his animals. This shows time’s independence.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Time is the strongest among the strong because it is the Lord, Nārāyaṇa. The aṁśa is non-different from the aṁśī (the Lord). The Lord is endowed with all powers. He does not decrease since he is infinite. He moves all creatures somewhere else (kālayate), in order to play. It is his play.
Or he never tires in this action. His power is shown: he does it like play, as a pastime just as a cowherd gathers cows as play at a certain time. The cowherd is the master of the cows, moving them according to his will.