Influence turns private behavior into public teaching.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
यदि ह्यहं न वर्तेयं जातु कर्मण्यतन्द्रितः |मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः ||३-२३||
yadi hyahaṃ na varteyaṃ jātu karmaṇyatandritaḥ . mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ ||3-23||
Use this verse when people follow your example.
Meaning
For if I did not carefully continue in action, O Partha, people would follow My path in every way.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Krishna shows that influential people must act responsibly because others imitate them.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Influence creates responsibility. Krishna says that if he stopped acting, people would imitate that. This is a powerful lesson for parents, founders, creators, spiritual guides, and public leaders. When you have influence, your laziness, shortcuts, ethics, speech, and priorities become contagious. The more people watch you, the more careful your action must become.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna extends the logic of example to its sobering conclusion. If even he, the supreme being, were to cease acting and rest idle, people everywhere would imitate his inaction — for the world follows the conduct of the great. His tireless engagement, atandrita, is itself an act of compassion, holding the world steady.
This underscores how consequential the behaviour of the exemplary truly is. The withdrawal of a single revered figure can give countless others permission to abandon their own duties. Leadership, then, carries a weight beyond personal preference.
Krishna acts not because he must, but because his very example sustains right conduct among humanity. For Arjuna and for all who hold any position of influence, the message is clear: your diligence or your negligence will be multiplied in the lives of those who look to you.
In daily life
Be careful with the habits others may copy from you.
A content creator who promotes unhealthy shortcuts may shape thousands of young minds.
Try this today
Audit one visible habit and improve it before advising others.
I use my influence responsibly.Reflect
What might others be copying from me?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘कर्मणि अतन्द्रितः’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on leadership, in other chapters
- Verse 18.43The life of action and leadership calls for courage, fortitude, generosity, and never fleeing rightful struggle.
- Verse 6.5You are your own best friend or worst enemy — choose to lift yourself rather than let your lower impulses pull you down.
- Verse 8.26Two paths lie ever open before us, toward light or toward return; how we live decides which one we travel.
Swipe left for 3.24 · Responsible inaction can become collective harm.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 3.23
Who says Bhagavad Gita 3.23, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 3.23, in Chapter 3, Karma Yoga (Karma Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 3.23 mean?
For if I did not carefully continue in action, O Partha, people would follow My path in every way. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 3.23 for daily life?
Be careful with the habits others may copy from you. A content creator who promotes unhealthy shortcuts may shape thousands of young minds.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 3.23 mean?
यदि हि अहम् न वर्तेयम् — for if I did not engage; जातु — ever; कर्मणि अतन्द्रितः — in action, unwearied / vigilant; मम वर्त्म अनुवर्तन्ते — would follow My path; मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः — people in every way, O Partha.
Where does verse 3.23 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 23 of 43 in Chapter 3, Karma Yoga. The next verse is 3.24.