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Chapter 11 · The Universal Form · 55 verses

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Krishna’s natureChapter 11 · The Universal Form
11.3111.33

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 11.32

Krishna reveals Himself as time

श्रीभगवानुवाच

कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो

लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्त: ।

‍ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे

येऽवस्थिता: प्रत्यनीकेषु योधा: ॥ ३२ ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

kālo ’smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho

lokān samāhartum iha pravṛttaḥ

ṛte ’pi tvāṁ na bhaviṣyanti sarve

ye ’vasthitāḥ praty-anīkeṣu yodhāḥ

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people. With the exception of you [the Pāṇḍavas], all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Kṛṣṇa as All-Devouring Time

  1. 1Kṛṣṇa declares that He is time, the destroyer of worlds. Except for the Pāṇḍavas, all soldiers on both sides will die.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that they would die even if Arjuna did not fight, because this was the Supreme Lord’s plan.
  3. 3Remember that all things in this world will be destroyed by time, according to the Supreme Lord’s desire.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 11, The Universal Form: krishna as time and the divine plan.

What it teaches

Study note

A stunning revelation overturns Arjuna’s assumptions about control.

From the purport

Summary — read the full purport on Vedabase

Prabhupāda explains that the great warriors’ destruction was already arranged by Krishna’s will.

How it feels

Interpretive

Terror and awe

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Universal form

Krishna identifies Himself as all-devouring time.

Time & mortality

Krishna reveals Himself as time, the destroyer.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How do I respond when confronted with the inevitability of time and mortality?

Practice

Let awareness of life’s temporariness strengthen responsibility and devotion.

4

The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 11 ›
5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 11.8A vision requiring divine eyesBG 11.51Composure returns in Krishna’s personal presenceBG 2.27The eternal soul beyond bodily deathBG 8.5Remember Krishna while performing duty

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.