Meaning
Supreme God Krishna spoke
I am Time—the great annihilator of the worlds—grown mature to decimate all the people. Even without you {participating in the battle}, all the warriors in the opposing armies shall perish. (11:32)
Sanskrit
श्रीभगवान् उवाच
कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः ।
ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे येऽवस्थिताःप्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः॥
Word-by-word
कालः अस्मि लोक-क्षय-कृत् प्रवृद्धः,
लोकान् समाहर्तुम् इह प्रवृत्तः; ॠते अपि त्वाम् न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे ये अव-स्थिताः प्रति अनीकेषु योधाः।
Commentary
It is famous that when the creator of the Atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, exploded the first Atomic Bomb at the New Mexico Trinity Test Site in 1945, he recalled this verse of the Bhagavad-Gitā when he saw the enormous glowing flame of indomitable light coming up in the sky! Despite being born a Jew, Oppenheimer was a great lover, scholar, and admirer of the Bhagavad-Gitā. It is clear from the events preceding the Mahābhārata war that Bhagawān Krishna considered war and violence as the last resort and considered pre-war tolerance and dialogue essential. Bhagawān Krishna went to the Kaurava assembly as a peace messenger to solve the problems and prevent the war, but Duryodhana did not budge an inch, so the war took place. The Lord preached non-violence again and again on the battlefield, even though this war He considered necessary. Therefore, it is wrong to find support in the Bhagavad-Gitā for the misuse of nuclear weapons. Oppenheimer also recalled this verse suddenly, so he gave his unprecedented experience a poetic expression in the form of this verse! But he is not known to have ever used the Bhagavad-Gitā in support of weapons of mass destruction. On the contrary, he opposed the proposal for building a more destructive Hydrogen Bomb, for which he faced persecution. This courage he mustered could have been derived from the strength acquired from the verses of the Gitā. He was known to be so fond of the Gitā that he would often distribute its copies among his friends.