Bhagavad Gita - 4.7 and 4.8

Bhagavad Gita (“Song of God” or “Song of the Lord”) is one of the most important texts of Hinduism. It is a dialogue between Lord Krishna and warrior-prince Arjuna. On this Gita Jayanti, let us learn two verses - 7 and 8 from chapter 4.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत |

अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् || 7|

yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata

abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛijāmyaham

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् |

धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे || 8||

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśhāya cha duṣhkṛitām

dharma-sansthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge

Word meaning and Translation—

Verse 7 -

yadā—whenever; yadā—wherever; hi—certainly; dharmasya—of religion; glānir—discrepancies; bhavati—manifested, becomes; bhārata—O descendant of Bharata; abhyutthānam—predominance; adharmasya—of irreligion; tadā—at that time; ātmānaṁ—self; sṛijāmi—manifest; aham—I.

TRANSLATION

Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself.

Verse 8 -

paritrāṇāya—for the deliverance; sādhūnāṁ—of the devotees; vināśhāya—for the annihilation; ca—also; duṣhkṛitām—of the miscreants; dharma—principles of religion; sansthāpanārthāya—to reestablish; sambhavāmi—I do appear; yuge—millennium; yuge—after millennium.

TRANSLATION

In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.

Swami Vivekanand’s Translation:

"Whenever virtue subsides and wickedness prevails, I manifest Myself. To establish virtue, to destroy evil, to save the good I come from Yuga (age) to Yuga."