Chapter 4, Verse 7
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत | अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ||४-७||
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānirbhavati bhārata . abhyutthānamadharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmyaham ||4-7||
Meaning
4.7 Whenever there is decline of righteousness, O Arjuna, and rise of unrighteousness, then I manifest Myself.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
This is among the most beloved verses of the Gita, a promise that echoes through the ages. Krishna assures Arjuna that the divine is not indifferent to the moral health of the world. Whenever dharma weakens (glāni) and adharma rises, the Lord takes form to restore the balance. The repetition yadā yadā — 'whenever, whenever' — makes this a recurring cosmic law, not a single historical event.
The verse offers profound reassurance: injustice is never the final word. Yet it also implies responsibility. The divine response comes when righteousness has declined within human life and conduct. For the seeker, this is both comfort and call — comfort that grace meets every dark age, and a reminder that we ourselves are the soil in which dharma either flourishes or fades.
💡 Key Takeaway
When righteousness declines, a restoring force always arises — injustice is never the final word.
Related Verses
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् | धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ||४-८||
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṃ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām . dharmasaṃsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge ||4-8||
4.8 For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of righteousness, I am born in every age.
कर्मणो ह्यपि बोद्धव्यं बोद्धव्यं च विकर्मणः | अकर्मणश्च बोद्धव्यं गहना कर्मणो गतिः ||४-१७||
karmaṇo hyapi boddhavyaṃ boddhavyaṃ ca vikarmaṇaḥ . akarmaṇaśca boddhavyaṃ gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ ||4-17||
4.17 For verily (the true nature) of action (enjoined by the scriptures) should be known, also (that) of forbidden (or unlawful) action, and of inaction; hard to understand is the nature (path) of action.
अपि चेदसि पापेभ्यः सर्वेभ्यः पापकृत्तमः | सर्वं ज्ञानप्लवेनैव वृजिनं सन्तरिष्यसि ||४-३६||
api cedasi pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ . sarvaṃ jñānaplavenaiva vṛjinaṃ santariṣyasi ||4-36||
4.36 Even if thou art the most sinful of all sinners, yet thou shalt verily cross all sins by the raft of knowledge.