Verse 4.8
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्। धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे।।
Transliteration (IAST)
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge
Word-by-Word Meanings
paritrāṇāya-for the deliverance
sādhūnām-of the righteous
vināśāya-for the destruction
duṣkṛtām-of the miscreants
dharma-saṁsthāpana-re-establishing dharma
yuge yuge-in every age
Translation
To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to re-establish the principles of dharma, I Myself appear millennium after millennium.
Commentary
This verse completes the avatāra doctrine by stating its threefold purpose: protection of the righteous, destruction of evil, and restoration of cosmic order. The phrase 'yuge yuge' indicates this is not a one-time event but an eternal principle of divine governance.
Themes
dharmatimekarma