श्रीभगवानुवाच ।कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः ।ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे येऽवस्थिताः प्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः ॥
śrībhagavān uvāca |kālo 'smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho lokān samāhartum iha pravṛttaḥ |ṛte 'pi tvāṃ na bhaviṣyanti sarve ye 'vasthitāḥ pratyanīkeṣu yodhāḥ ||
- कालः · kālaḥ
- Time
- अस्मि · asmi
- I am
- लोकक्षयकृत् · loka-kṣaya-kṛt
- the destroyer of worlds
- प्रवृद्धः · pravṛddhaḥ
- grown mighty, full-grown
- समाहर्तुम् · samāhartum
- to gather in, withdraw
- प्रवृत्तः · pravṛttaḥ
- set forth, engaged
- ऋते · ṛte
- without, apart from
- प्रत्यनीकेषु · pratyanīkeṣu
- in the hostile ranks
- योधाः · yodhāḥ
- warriors
“The Blessed Lord said: I am Time, grown mighty, the destroyer of worlds — set forth here to gather in these worlds. Apart from you, none of these warriors arrayed in the hostile ranks shall survive.”
— Original plain-language translation
IN SHORT Time moves powerfully on; act wisely while your moment lasts.
The chapter's thunderclap: Krishna names himself Kala, Time that ripens and reaps all things. The assurance that the enemy is already doomed reframes Arjuna's role from killer to instrument — developed in the next two verses. It is like the final exam bell that ends every paper, however well students are still writing.
— Reader's notes (original)