Topic

Time

8 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on time. Explore teachings across 4 chapters.

All Verses

Chapter 4 • Verse 2 →The Yoga of Knowledge and Renunciation
Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh, sa kaleneha mahata yogo nashtah parantapa

This supreme science was received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in this way. But over the course of time the succession was broken and the science appears to have been lost.

  • •Wisdom can be lost when the teacher-student chain breaks
  • •Preservation of sacred knowledge requires living transmission
  • •Time and negligence erode even the most profound teachings
paramparalineagewisdompreservation
Chapter 4 • Verse 4 →The Yoga of Knowledge and Renunciation
Arjuna uvaca: Aparam bhavato janma param janma vivasvata, katham etad vijaniyam tvam adau proktavan iti

Arjuna asks: Vivasvan the sun-god was born long before you — how then are we to understand that you taught this yoga to him in the beginning?

  • •Genuine questioning deepens understanding
  • •The mystery of the divine's relationship with time is real
  • •Honest inquiry is respected and answered by the teacher
questionbirthmysterydivine nature
Chapter 4 • Verse 5 →The Yoga of Knowledge and Renunciation
Sri bhagavan uvaca: Bahuni me vyatitani janmani tava carjuna, tany aham veda sarvani na tvam vettha parantapa

Krishna replies: Both you and I have passed through many births. I remember them all, O Arjuna, but you do not remember yours.

  • •The Divine retains memory across all births
  • •Human forgetfulness of past lives is part of the veil of maya
  • •Transcendence of time is a hallmark of divine consciousness
reincarnationdivine memorymayapast lives
Chapter 8 • Verse 17 →The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman
Sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmanah viduh, ratrim yuga-sahasrantam te 'ho-ratra-vido janah

By human calculation, a thousand ages (yugas) taken together are the duration of Brahma's one day. And such also is the duration of his night. Those who understand this cosmic time scale truly understand the day and night of the universe. A single day of Brahma spans 4.32 billion human years — this cosmic time scale reveals the vast cycles within which individual lives are set.

  • •Cosmic time operates on scales incomprehensible to ordinary human perception
  • •Even the creator Brahma exists within time and is subject to cycles
  • •Understanding cosmic time cultivates perspective on the brevity of material existence
cosmic timeBrahma's dayyugascreation cycles
Chapter 10 • Verse 30 →The Yoga of Divine Glories
Prahladas casmi daityanan kalah kalayatam aham, mrigaanam ca mrigendro 'ham vainateyash ca pakshinam

Among the Daityas (demons) I am Prahlada; among reckoning I am time; among animals I am the lion; and among birds I am Garuda. Prahlada is the supreme example of devotion even among demonic circumstances — the Lord manifests as the most devotional heart even in the most unlikely settings.

  • •Prahlada embodies pure devotion triumphing over adverse circumstances
  • •Time (Kala) is the greatest power — an expression of divine inevitability
  • •The lion among animals and Garuda among birds represent divine majesty and speed
PrahladaGarudadevotionvibhuti
Chapter 10 • Verse 33 →The Yoga of Divine Glories
Aksharanaam akaro 'smi dvandvah samasikasya ca, aham evakshayah kalo dhataham vishvato-mukhah

Among letters I am the letter 'A'; among compound words I am the dual compound (dvandva); I am also inexhaustible time, and among creators I am Brahma whose face is everywhere. The letter 'A' is the first and most fundamental sound — it is the sound from which all speech and mantras arise.

  • •The letter A is the primordial sound, the foundation of all language
  • •Time in its inexhaustible nature is a direct manifestation of the eternal Lord
  • •Brahma, creator of the manifest universe, is an expression of divine creative power
letter ABrahmalanguagevibhuti
Chapter 11 • Verse 27 →The Yoga of the Vision of the Universal Form
Vaktrāṇi te tvaramāṇā vishanti daṁṣhṭrākarālāni bhayānakāni, kechid vilagnā daśhanāntareṣhu sandṛishyante chūrṇitair uttamāṅgaiḥ

They rush into Your terrifying, gaping mouths with fearful fangs. Some are seen caught between Your teeth with their heads already crushed.

  • •Time as God devours all beings
  • •No one is spared from the cycle of dissolution
  • •The vision reveals the frightening truth of impermanence
devouring mouthsdissolutioncrushedimpermanence
Chapter 11 • Verse 32 →The Yoga of the Vision of the Universal Form
Śhrī bhagavān uvācha: kālo 'smi loka-kṣhaya-kṛit pravṛiddho lokān samāhartum iha pravṛittaḥ, ṛite 'pi tvāṁ na bhaviṣhyanti sarve ye 'vasthitāḥ pratyanīkeṣhu yodhāḥ

The Blessed Lord said: I am Time, the great destroyer of worlds, and I have come to annihilate all people. Except for you, all these warriors arrayed in the opposing armies shall cease to exist.

  • •God is time itself — the destroyer of all
  • •The outcome of the war is already decided
  • •Understanding God as Kala (Time) is the highest wisdom
Kaladestroyerannihilationdestiny decided