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The Blessed Lord said I am the full-grown world-destroying Time, now engaged in destroying the worlds. Even without thee, none of the warriors arrayed in the hostile armies shall live.

The Lord said: I am time, grown mighty, the destroyer of worlds, set to work here to sweep away the peoples. Even without you, none of these warriors arrayed in the opposing ranks will survive.

Krishna answers in one of the most famous lines of the Gita: I am time (kāla), grown vast, the destroyer of worlds, engaged here in withdrawing all peoples. Time is the force that brings everything to an end, and it is already at work on the battlefield. Then comes the point aimed directly at Arjuna: even without his action, the warriors facing him will not live. His refusal to fight would not save them. The verse reframes his dilemma. The outcome he dreads is not in his hands; what remains in his hands is how he acts within it.