Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 11: The Vision of the Cosmic Form

Bhagavad Gita 11.32

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 ||

I am time, grown mighty, the destroyer of worlds, and I have come here to bring the worlds to their end. Even without you, none of the warriors drawn up in the opposing ranks will survive.

Modern context

'I am time, the destroyer of worlds.' This is the Gita's most famous line in the modern world, the one Oppenheimer recalled at the first atomic test. Krishna's answer is stark. Time destroys everything, and it has already come for the warriors on this field. 'Even without you, none of them will survive.' Arjuna's refusal to fight would not save a single life. The end is coming either way.