A declaration · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“When dharma collapses, the divine steps into history.”
Whenever there is a decline of dharma and a rise of adharma, I manifest myself.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallywhenever · indeed · of dharma · decline · becomes · O Bharata · rise · of adharma · then · myself · I create/manifest · I
Whenever righteous order declines and wrongdoing rises, Krishna says he manifests in the world to restore balance.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (Knowledge and Renunciation of Action).
Verse 7 sits in Chapter 4 of the Bhagavad Gita — Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga, "Knowledge and Renunciation of Action". The chapter has 42 verses in total.
In a housing society, bribes for approvals slowly become normal and honest residents fall silent. Krishna's promise gives them courage: when dharma sinks this low, he comes, and those who stand for it are not alone.
Did you like this verse?
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, Krishna says, he manifests himself.
What this verse means
Whenever righteous order declines and wrongdoing rises, Krishna says he manifests in the world to restore balance.
Context & commentary
Krishna has already said he knows all births and is unborn. Now he explains why divine presence enters history: to answer the collapse of dharma and the rise of adharma.
What it looks like today
In a housing society, bribes for approvals slowly become normal and honest residents fall silent. Krishna's promise gives them courage: when dharma sinks this low, he comes, and those who stand for it are not alone.
“Even in chaos, the world is not abandoned. Help arrives when the balance is most strained.”
Explore related themes: dharma (14 verses), adharma (12 verses)