Oppenheimer's famous quote 'I am become Death' isn't really his. The ominous words come from Hindu scripture. (2024)

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Morgan McFall-Johnsen

Updated

2024-02-16T21:19:48Z

Oppenheimer's famous quote 'I am become Death' isn't really his. The ominous words come from Hindu scripture. (1)

Bettmann/Getty Images
  • J. Robert Oppenheimer watched the first atom bomb explode and thought, "Now I am become Death."
  • The famous quote is not an Oppenheimer original. The god Vishnu says it in Hindu scripture.
  • Watch the moment Oppenheimer spoke those foreboding words on NBC, below.

Oppenheimer's famous quote 'I am become Death' isn't really his. The ominous words come from Hindu scripture. (4)

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Oppenheimer's famous quote 'I am become Death' isn't really his. The ominous words come from Hindu scripture. (6)

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J. Robert Oppenheimer once declared himself — or, possibly, the power of the atom bomb he had unleashed — "Death, the destroyer of worlds." The title is bleak but fitting.

"Uh, yeah. That's right," Alan Robock, a climatologist and leading expert on nuclear winter, told Insider. "But it wasn't just him."

Oppenheimer led a team of scientists to develop the world's first nuclear weapon in 1945, creating what Robock calls "the greatest danger that the world has been faced with."

Their race to get the bomb before the Nazis, an effort called the Manhattan Project, is the subject of Christopher Nolan's film "Oppenheimer," where the ominous death quote makes an appearance.

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Oppenheimer's famous quote 'I am become Death' isn't really his. The ominous words come from Hindu scripture. (7)

National Security Research Center

The real Oppenheimer uttered these words during an interview for a 1965 NBC broadcast on the decision to drop the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

He was talking about the much smaller Trinity Test in the New Mexico desert just three weeks prior. It was the first atom bomb explosion, ever.

Watch Oppenheimer recall the moment of the historic detonation in the clip from the NBC documentary:

With a thousand-yard stare and plenty of long pauses, the physicist says:

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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. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince" — here Oppenheimer dabs the corner of his eye with a knuckle, as both eyes begin to glisten, seemingly with gathering tears — "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 next person to speak in the documentary is physicist Kenneth Bainbridge, who directed the Trinity Test.

He described his sense of responsibility a little differently: "When I shook hands with Oppenheimer, I said 'Now we're all sons of bitches.'"

The scripture is about a god telling a soldier not to feel responsible for who lives and who dies

The fact that Oppenheimer turned to Sanskrit scripture at such a pivotal moment suggests that, at least in part, Hindu writings helped him make sense of the destructive power he was bringing into the world.

"He was obviously very attracted to this philosophy," Rev. Dr. Stephen Thompson, a Sanskrit scholar who has taught the Bhagavad Gita, told Wired in 2017.

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Oppenheimer's famous quote 'I am become Death' isn't really his. The ominous words come from Hindu scripture. (8)

National Security Research Center

In the line that Oppenheimer recalled, the god Vishnu is speaking to the warrior prince Arjuna, incarnated as his charioteer, Lord Krishna.

"Arjuna is a soldier, he has a duty to fight. Krishna, not Arjuna, will determine who lives and who dies, and Arjuna should neither mourn nor rejoice over what fate has in store but should be sublimely unattached to such results," Thompson told Wired. "And ultimately the most important thing is he should be devoted to Krishna. His faith will save Arjuna's soul."

Similarly, the Nolan film grapples with the question of how much Oppenheimer was (or wasn't) responsible for how the US used the atom bomb, and for the people it killed.

In the NBC interview, Oppenheimer discussed the justifications for developing the nuclear bomb — that it would end the atrocities of World War II and "save countless lives" — and the hope that it would never be used.

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"On the whole we were inclined to think that, if it was needed to put an end to the war and had a chance of so doing, we thought that was the right thing to do," he said.

Oppenheimer's famous quote 'I am become Death' isn't really his. The ominous words come from Hindu scripture. (9)

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Oppenheimer's famous quote 'I am become Death' isn't really his. The ominous words come from Hindu scripture. (10)

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Oppenheimer's famous quote 'I am become Death' isn't really his. The ominous words come from Hindu scripture. (2024)

FAQs

Oppenheimer's famous quote 'I am become Death' isn't really his. The ominous words come from Hindu scripture.? ›

The scripture is about a god telling a soldier not to feel responsible for who lives and who dies. The fact Oppenheimer turned to Sanskrit scripture at such a pivotal moment suggests that, at least in part, Hindu writings

Hindu writings
Hindu texts or Hindu scriptures are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. Some of the major Hindu texts include the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Itihasa.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Hindu_texts
helped him make sense of the destructive power he was bringing into the world.

What did Oppenheimer mean when he said I am become Death? ›

That's the philosophy, really: that there's only one consciousness, and that the whole of creation is a wonderful play,” Thompson told Wired UK in 2017. “I am become Death,” then, is not necessarily a quote about destruction—it's about a mortal man letting go and putting his faith in the divine.

Did Oppenheimer really quote the Bhagavad Gita? ›

Robert Oppenheimer while looking at the erupting fireball from the atomic bomb explosion in Los Alamos, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945: “Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” These words are a a paraphrase of Bhagavad Gita 11:32 where Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu – whom many Hindus think of as the supreme ...

What was Oppenheimer's famous quote? ›

As he witnessed the first detonation of a nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, a piece of Hindu scripture ran through the mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

Why are people boycotting Oppenheimer? ›

Why did Oppenheimer movie sparked outrage in India? Because there is a scene in this movie, where Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh) are having sex. In that scene, Oppenheimer is shown reading Bhagwad Gita. That is what has hurt some people's sentiments.

What did Einstein say about Oppenheimer? ›

"The trouble with Oppenheimer is that he loves a woman who doesn't love him — the United States government," Einstein once said, according to the book "American Prometheus," which the movie is based on. That's an "Einstein-level burn," Wellerstein said.

What WTF is Oppenheimer about? ›

Oppenheimer is a 2023 epic biographical thriller film written, directed, and produced by Christopher Nolan. It follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II.

What religion was Oppenheimer? ›

The Oppenheimers were a non-observant Jewish family and sent young Oppenheimer to the Ethical Culture School founded on principles of rationalism and progressive secular humanism. As an adult, Oppenheimer said “my life as a child did not prepare me for the fact that the world is full of cruel and bitter things.”

What was Oppenheimer's IQ? ›

Oppenheimer's IQ is 135. This estimation assumes he would be among the top 1% of living physicists during his era. The estimation follows the methods and assumptions utilized for Albert Einstein, offering a credible insight into Oppenheimer's intellectual caliber.

What was the last line of Oppenheimer? ›

And in one of the most jarring, heart-stopping final lines of the last 20 years, Oppenheimer responds: "I believe we did." Murphy absolutely crushes the dread and utter hopelessness of Oppenheimer's delivery, and as we watch, we feel the same way—because we know it's true.

What did Oppenheimer say to his wife? ›

RELATED: Why Did Oppenheimer Say, "Now I am Death, the Destroyer of Worlds" And What Did it Mean? But their romance was also tempestuous. In the film and in American Prometheus, Tatlock is portrayed as being mercurial with Robert.

Was Oppenheimer a Hindu? ›

He nicknamed his car Garuda, the mount bird of the Hindu god Vishnu. Oppenheimer never became a Hindu in the traditional sense; he did not join any temple nor pray to any god. He "was really taken by the charm and the general wisdom of the Bhagavad-Gita," his brother said.

Did Oppenheimer meet Einstein? ›

Oppenheimer met Einstein for the first time in January 1932 when the latter visited Caltech as part of his round-the-world trip during 1931-32. In 1939, Einstein published a paper that argued against the existence of Black holes. Einstein used his own general theory of relativity to arrive at this conclusion.

Why did Japan not like Oppenheimer? ›

According to Variety, the film placed third at the box office in its opening weekend. Some Japanese people who saw the film questioned both the lack of Japanese perspectives as well as the tone of the movie, which they saw as lauding both Oppenheimer and his work on the Manhattan Project.

Is Oppenheimer banned in Japan? ›

'Oppenheimer' will screen in Japan in 2024, distributors say The decision to release the movie profiling the American scientist follows criticism that the film largely ignored the impact of the bombings that killed more than 200,000 people in Japan.

Which countries ban Oppenheimer? ›

'Oppenheimer' is now playing in theaters around the world — except in Japan. Here's why. There has been speculation that Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" is banned in Japan. The film stars Cillian Murphy as J.

Did Oppenheimer actually say now I am become death the destroyer of worlds? ›

Did Oppenheimer Actually Say "Destroyer of Worlds" - and What Did He Mean By It? Oppenheimer did say the quote (you can watch video of him saying it in the NBC News documentary above), but it's doubtful he actually said it right after the Trinity Test.

Did Oppenheimer actually say I am become Death destroyer of worlds? ›

The quote "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds" is not actually something that Oppenheimer came up with himself, instead being taken from the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is a section of Hindu scripture, coming from the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics from ancient India.

Does Oppenheimer say I am become Death in the film? ›

Cillian Murphy is being praised for his gripping portrayal of Oppenheimer, illustrating the physicist with an intense depth of emotion. One of the most powerful moments of the entire movie is when Murphy delivers the iconic line: “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds”.

What did Oppenheimer actually say about the atomic bomb? ›

I think it is for us to accept it as a very grave crisis, to realize that these atomic weapons which we have started to make are very terrible, that they involve a change, that they are not just a slight modification: to accept this, and to accept with it the necessity for those transformations in the world which will ...

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