Time, like Maya is the most subtle and powerful aspect of the Supreme Lord and though not perceivable, the effects of the passage of Time are felt and noticeable when one gets engulfed in it. In cosmic terms, Time is shown to be cyclic as during Pralaya everything is contained in the Lord who is the absolute controller and exists beyond it. But during creation Time holds sway over the entire universe. The sun, moon and the planets and all of Nature move in accordance to Time that is directed by the Lord.
In the Gita, the Lord describes Himself as the relentless ‘Kala’. Yet, in many instances, it is shown that the Lord Himself abides by the dictates of Time even when He has the power to overrule it, pointed out Sri R. Krishnamurthy Sastrigal in a discourse.
When the celestial beings Indra and others pray to Him to give relief from the atrocities of Hiranyakasipu, He advises patience and promises help at the appropriate time when His devotee Prahlada will be born. So too, He waits for Sisupala to hurl a hundred curses before taking him to task.
In the Ramayana, Sita undergoes untold suffering in Asoka Vana and is relieved only after the evil effects of Time get exhausted. Prahlada presents a practical picture of the human lifespan to his asura classmates to show how each one is subject to the effects of passing Time. Granted that it is a hundred years, it is a great wonder how this can slip unobtrusively even before one may realise it. Of this, one half of it is spent in sleep and darkness. Childhood, boyhood, etc race towards old age in great haste. The wise who know this take care not to waste this chance by totally getting involved in samsara leading to entanglement in the form of love and affection for the kith and kin.