Verse 11.32
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
श्रीभगवानुवाच | कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः | ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे येऽवस्थिताः प्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः ||३२||
Transliteration (IAST)
śrī bhagavān uvāca | kālo 'smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho lokān samāhartum iha pravṛttaḥ | ṛte 'pi tvāṁ na bhaviṣyanti sarve ye 'vasthitāḥ pratyanīkeṣu yodhāḥ ||32||
Word-by-Word Meanings
Translation
The Supreme Lord said: I am Time, the mighty destroyer of worlds, engaged here in destroying all beings. Even without you, all the warriors standing in the opposing armies shall cease to exist.
Commentary
This is the most famous verse of Chapter 11 and among the most celebrated in the entire Gita. Krishna reveals His ultimate nature as Kāla - Time, the all-consuming force of cosmic dissolution. Shankaracharya explains that 'ṛte api tvām' liberates Arjuna from the illusion of personal agency in killing - these warriors are already dead by divine decree. Robert Oppenheimer quoted this verse after the first nuclear test. Ramanuja interprets kāla as the Lord's destructive aspect that operates through the natural law of impermanence.