Shloka 32
सम्बन्ध--इस प्रकार अर्जुनके पूछनेपर भगवान् अपने उमग्ररूप धारण करनेका कारण बतलाते हुए प्रश्नानुसार उत्तर देते हैं-- श्रीभगवानुवाच कालो<स्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो लोकान् समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्त: । ऋते<पि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे ये5वस्थिता: प्रत्यनीकेषु योधा:,श्रीभगवान् बोले--मैं लोकोंका नाश करनेवाला बढ़ा हुआ महाकाल हूँ।* इस समय इन लोकोंको नष्ट करनेके लिये प्रवृत्त हुआ हूँ।ः इसलिये जो प्रतिपक्षियोंकी सेनामें स्थित योद्धालोग हैं, वे सब तेरे बिना भी नहीं रहेंगे अर्थात् तेरे युद्ध न करनेपर भी इन सबका नाश हो जायगाः
śrībhagavān uvāca: kālo 'smi lokakṣayakṛt pravṛddho lokān samāhartum iha pravṛttaḥ | ṛte 'pi tvāṁ na bhaviṣyanti sarve ye 'vasthitāḥ pratyanīkeṣu yodhāḥ ||
The Blessed Lord said: “I am Time, grown mighty, the agent of the world’s destruction. Here and now I have set forth to gather up (i.e., annihilate) these worlds. Therefore, even without you, all those warriors who stand arrayed in the opposing ranks will not remain; their destruction is already ordained.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kṛṣṇa reveals that the cosmic process of destruction is already underway as Time itself; Arjuna is urged to act according to dharma without egoistic ownership, understanding that outcomes are governed by the divine order rather than personal hesitation.
After Arjuna’s questions upon seeing the terrifying universal form, Kṛṣṇa explains why that form appears: it discloses the inevitable fate of the warriors in the opposing ranks—whether Arjuna fights or not, their end is already encompassed by Time’s decree.