Bhagavad GitaBhagavad Gita 11.32
Chapter 11, verse 32: the Sanskrit, the Roman letters, the meaning and what it is used for.
कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः
ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे येऽवस्थिताः प्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः
kālo'smi lokakṣayakṛtpravṛddho lokānsamāhartumiha pravṛttaḥ
ṛte'pi tvāṃ na bhaviṣyanti sarve ye'vasthitāḥ pratyanīkeṣu yodhāḥ
Meaning
I am Time, the destroyer of worlds, grown great, engaged here in gathering in the worlds. Even without you, all these warriors standing in the opposing armies shall cease to be.
Explanation
This is the verse said to have come to the mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer after the first nuclear test, in a looser form. In the Gita, it is the moment when Arjuna understands that the outcome of the war is bound up with something larger than his own decisions. Krishna then asks him to act as an instrument, not out of fear.
Where it fits
This is verse 32 of 55 in chapter 11, "The vision of the universal form" (Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga). previous verse (11.31) · next verse (11.33)
Questions people ask
What does Bhagavad Gita 11.32 mean?
I am Time, the destroyer of worlds, grown great, engaged here in gathering in the worlds. Even without you, all these warriors standing in the opposing armies shall cease to be.
Where is this verse?
It is verse 32 of chapter 11 (The vision of the universal form), which has 55 verses.
Meanings and explanations are our own wording, not an authorised translation. Readers of the Gita follow different traditions and teachers; please ask yours about what you read here.