Physicist Robert OppenheimerSupervising Scientist Manhattan Project on 16 July 1945 at 0529 HRS,
in the Jornada del Muerto desert near
the Trinity site in the White Sands Missile Range.
...quoting from the Bhagavad-Gita upon
witnessing first atomic detonation by mankind.
The exact quote from the Bhagavad-Gita is:
If the radiance of a thousand sunsWere to burst at once into the skyThat would be like the splendor of the Mighty one...I am become Death,The shatterer of Worlds.
The Dawn of the Atomic Age
"The Atomic Age began at exactly 5:30 Mountain War Time on the morning of July 15, 1945, on a stretch of semi-desert land about 5 airline miles from Alamogordo, New Mexico.
"And just at that instance there rose from the bowels of the earth a light not of this world, the light of many suns in one."
William LaurenceNew York TimesSeptember 26, 1945
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Father of the Atomic bomb quoting the Bhagavad-Gita
Robert J. Oppenheimer."Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."A lot of scientests felt really bad about developing such a weapon. A lot of scientests believed it should have never been built. What do you think?
__________________
"We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." I suppose we all thought that one way or another."
- J. Robert Oppenheimer
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We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita... "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.
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The first
nuclear test, which Oppenheimer designated "
Trinity".
Trinity
Main article:
Trinity test
See also:
Bhagavad Gita#Influence of the Bhagavad Gita and
Trinity test#Explosion
The joint work of the scientists at Los Alamos resulted in the first
nuclear explosion near
Alamogordo on
July 16,
1945, the site of which Oppenheimer named "
Trinity", Oppenheimer later said this name was from one of
John Donne's Holy
Sonnets. According to the historian Gregg Herken, this naming could have been an allusion to Jean Tatlock, who had committed suicide a few months previously, and had in the 1930s introduced Oppenheimer to Donne's work.
[44] Oppenheimer later recalled that while witnessing the explosion he thought of a verse from the
Hindu holy book, the
Bhagavad Gita:
"
If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one...
"
Years later he would explain that another verse had also entered his head at that time: It is the famous verse, which begins as "Kalo Asmi" and was quoted by Oppenheimer after the successful detonation of the first nuclear weapon. He unfortunately mistranslated it as "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds". The more correct meaning of the Sanskrit words is,
"
I am Time grown old to destroy the world, Embarked on the course of world annihilation.
"
(This is how J.A.B. van Buitenen translated the above passage in his version of the Bhagavadgita).
[45]
Oppenheimer later would be persuaded to quote again in 1965 for a television broadcast:
"
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the
Bhagavad-Gita;
Vishnu is trying to persuade the
Prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.'
[46]
"
According to his brother, at the time Oppenheimer simply exclaimed, "It worked." News of the successful test was rushed to President
Harry S. Truman, who authorized the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Oppenheimer later became an important figure in the debates on the repercussions of this act.
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I am become death
"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" Robert Oppenheimer, Trinity 1945
Robert Oppenheimer was the director of the laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and the scientific director of the Manhattan project. Since so many talents were involved it's somewhat misleading to call him "the father of the nuclear bomb", but he undeniably made one of the major individual contributions.
In an interview from 1965, Oppenheimer describes the initial reactions as the fruit of their labors, the very first nuclear bomb (the Hiroshima bomb was the second one), detonated early in the morning of July 16, 1945:
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed... A few people cried... Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form, and says, "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.
The quote was something he thought, but he didn't say it.
The quote is indeed from the Bhagavad Gita ("Song of the lord"). Some suggest it's a misquote, which would explain the peculiar grammar; but "am become" is not an error but a (poetic) archaism, as in "I am become a name, for always roaming with a hungry heart" (Tennyson, Ulysses). Since Oppenheimer was proficient in sanskrit he apparently read the original text, and the translation is his; I haven't found any other translation that supports it. It certainly gives a certain something to the line, however, and it probably would have been less well known if it had been "I am death".
Here's the verse with a little context, from a translation by Ramanand Prasad. Prince Arjuna hesitates to attack the enemy with his army; Vishnu, in the incarnation of Krishna, encourages him, and motivates him by explaining how the world works, with reincarnations, Brahman, Maya etc. Arjuna asks to see Vishnu in his "cosmic", i.e. real, form, a wish that is granted. The overwhelmed Arjuna asks:
Tell me who are You in such a fierce form? My salutations to You, O best of gods, be merciful! I wish to understand You, the primal Being, because I do not know Your mission.
The Supreme Lord said: I am death, the mighty destroyer of the world, out to destroy. Even without your participation all the warriors standing arrayed in the opposing armies shall cease to exist.
Therefore, get up and attain glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a prosperous kingdom. All these (warriors) have already been destroyed by Me. You are only an instrument, O Arjuna.
Bhagavad Gita, chapter 11, verses 31-33
In an ancient Hindu scripture one might expect something a little less violent, but apparently the word that is here translated as "death" can also be interpreted as "time", which softens the message a little, at least if you're Hindu. I am pretty certain the word is kala, which can mean "time" or "dark". The feminine form is Kali, the infamous goddess of death.
Another quote frequently attributed to Oppenheimer, from the same event, and placed before "I am become death" to form a single message:
"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst forth at once in the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One." "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."
That verse is a part of the description of the cosmic form of Vishnu, and is thus found 20 verses before the other quote. Here's the verse according to Prasad:
If the splendor of thousands of suns were to blaze forth all at once in the sky, even that would not resemble the splendor of that exalted being.
Bhagavad Gita, chapter 11, verse 12
The single place where Oppenheimer himself appears to mention the "thousand suns"-quote is in Current Biography Yearbook; I haven't seen this source, but as it's described the two verses have been interpreted as a single one, a mistake that has been repeated innumerable times since. But it is indeed two different verses, albeit not too distant from each other.
It worked!
What Robert J. actually said after the detonation, according to his brother Frank Oppenheimer. Frank was also working within the Manhattan project, and was on location in Trinity.
Note: In Full metal jacket, the soldier Animal Mother has "I am become death" written on his helmet.
Sources:
Interview with Robert Oppenheimer, from the documentary The Decision to Drop the Bomb, 1965 A short clip from the interview can be found all over the net, like
here or
here "Bomb Peril Cited by Oppenheimer", New York Times den 31 maj 1955 - quotes an article from Le Figaro
Bhagavad Gita translated by Ramanand Prasad
Bhagavad Gita in original sanskrit
Everything2.com:
Now I am become death..., with 11:32 translated by Swami Tripurari Current Biography Yearbook 1964, page 331; this source is mentioned at
Bartleby.com
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