Kala
/ˈkɑːlə/noun
A Sanskrit loanword used in English spiritual and philosophical writing for time, fate, or death.
Did you know?In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna declares, “I am Time, destroyer of worlds,” using the Sanskrit word *kāla*—a line later made famous by J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-Iranian
PII
*kā́las
“An inherited Indo-Iranian form associated with time; the deeper root is debated.”
Vedic Sanskrit
Sanskrit
kāla
“Time, an appointed period, or a proper moment.”
Classical Sanskrit
Sanskrit
kāla
“Time conceived as fate, mortality, or the force that brings destruction.”
Ancient India
Sanskrit
Mahākāla
““Great Time,” a name of Shiva and a fierce Buddhist-Hindu deity.”
20th Century
English
kala
“A Sanskrit-derived term used in English discussions of Indian religion, philosophy, yoga, and occult symbolism.”
Explore more surprising origins