Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verse 32

श्रीभगवानुवाच | कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो | लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः | ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे | येऽवस्थिताः प्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः ||

śrī-bhagavān uvāca kālo 'smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho lokān samāhartum iha pravṛttaḥ ṛte 'pi tvāṁ na bhaviṣyanti sarve ye 'vasthitāḥ pratyanīkeṣu yodhāḥ

The Supreme Lord said: I am mighty Time, the destroyer of worlds, engaged here in destroying all beings. Even without you, all these warriors standing in the opposing armies will not exist.

Krishna explains the cosmic form's nature. 'Kālo 'smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddhaḥ'—I am (asmi) mighty (pravṛddhaḥ) Time (kālaḥ), the destroyer of worlds (loka-kṣaya-kṛt). 'Lokān samāhartum iha pravṛttaḥ'—engaged (pravṛttaḥ) here (iha) in destroying (samāhartum) all beings (lokān). 'Ṛte 'pi tvāṁ na bhaviṣyanti sarve'—even (api) without (ṛte) you (tvām), all (sarve) will not exist (na bhaviṣyanti). 'Ye 'vasthitāḥ pratyanīkeṣu yodhāḥ'—those warriors (yodhāḥ) who are standing (avasthitāḥ) in the opposing armies (pratyanīkeṣu). Krishna reveals that the cosmic form is Time itself—the destroyer of worlds, engaged in destroying all beings. The destruction is inevitable—even without Arjuna fighting, all warriors will die. This verse shows that the cosmic form represents the inevitability of time and destruction—not a personal act, but the natural process of time consuming all beings.