Chapter 3, Verse 24
उत्सीदेयुरिमे लोका न कुर्यां कर्म चेदहम् | सङ्करस्य च कर्ता स्यामुपहन्यामिमाः प्रजाः ||३-२४||
utsīdeyurime lokā na kuryāṃ karma cedaham . saṅkarasya ca kartā syāmupahanyāmimāḥ prajāḥ ||3-24||
Meaning
3.24 These worlds would perish if I did not perform action; I should be the author of confusion of castes and destruction of these beings.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna names the cost of disengagement in the starkest terms. Were he to abandon action, the worlds themselves would collapse into ruin; he would become the cause of sankara — chaos, the breakdown of order — and the destruction of all beings. His ceaseless activity is what holds creation together.
The teaching elevates dutiful action to a cosmic necessity. Order is not self-sustaining; it is upheld by the continuous, conscious effort of those who maintain it. To withdraw from one's responsibilities is not a private, harmless choice but a contribution to disorder. Arjuna's potential desertion of the battlefield is precisely such an abdication that would let injustice and chaos spread. The verse calls us to see our work as a thread in the fabric of the world — and to recognize that maintaining what is good requires our active, faithful participation.
💡 Key Takeaway
Order does not sustain itself — when the capable withdraw their effort, chaos fills the void, so faithful action is a duty to all.
Related Verses
अर्जुन उवाच | ज्यायसी चेत्कर्मणस्ते मता बुद्धिर्जनार्दन | तत्किं कर्मणि घोरे मां नियोजयसि केशव ||३-१||
arjuna uvāca . jyāyasī cetkarmaṇaste matā buddhirjanārdana . tatkiṃ karmaṇi ghore māṃ niyojayasi keśava ||3-1||
3.1 Arjuna said If Thou thinkest that knowledge is superior to action, O Krishna, why then, O Kesava, dost Thou ask me to engage in this terrible action?
नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं कर्म ज्यायो ह्यकर्मणः | शरीरयात्रापि च ते न प्रसिद्ध्येदकर्मणः ||३-८||
niyataṃ kuru karma tvaṃ karma jyāyo hyakarmaṇaḥ . śarīrayātrāpi ca te na prasiddhyedakarmaṇaḥ ||3-8||
3.8 Do thou perform (thy) bounden duty, for action is superior to inaction and even the maintenance of the body would not be possible for thee by inaction.
तस्मादसक्तः सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर | असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पूरुषः ||३-१९||
tasmādasaktaḥ satataṃ kāryaṃ karma samācara . asakto hyācarankarma paramāpnoti pūruṣaḥ ||3-19||
3.19 Therefore without attachment, do thou always perform action which should be done; for by performing action without attachment man reaches the Supreme.