Responsible inaction can become collective harm.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
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||
Use this verse when withdrawing would harm others.
Meaning
If I did not act, these worlds would perish. I would become the cause of disorder and would harm these beings.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
When responsible people stop acting, systems can collapse.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna explains that inaction by the responsible can create disorder. This verse is highly relevant for leadership and governance. A parent who withdraws, a founder who stops caring, a manager who ignores culture, or a teacher who stops guiding can cause harm far beyond themselves. Dharma often means continuing to act so that others are protected and systems remain healthy.
Read the traditional 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.
In daily life
Do not abandon a role when others depend on your steadiness.
If a founder ignores team culture, toxicity can spread even without active wrongdoing.
Try this today
Identify one responsibility where your presence protects the system.
My responsible action protects others.Reflect
Where does my inaction affect others?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘न कुर्याम् कर्म चेत् अहम्’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on service, in other chapters
- Verse 18.44Every honest calling, from producing and trading to serving, is a worthy and dignified path.
- Verse 11.36 · ArjunaAs we accept the Divine's full reality, fear ripens into reverence and the praise of all creation seems only fitting.
- Verse 14.16The inner quality behind your actions, not just their outcome, decides whether you harvest peace, pain, or confusion.
- Verse 16.9A mind that loses its higher vision shrinks into cruelty, and its small thinking ripples outward as harm to the whole world.
Swipe left for 3.25 · Same action, different intention: bondage or service.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 3.24
Who says Bhagavad Gita 3.24, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 3.24, in Chapter 3, Karma Yoga (Karma Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 3.24 mean?
If I did not act, these worlds would perish. I would become the cause of disorder and would harm these beings. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 3.24 for daily life?
Do not abandon a role when others depend on your steadiness. If a founder ignores team culture, toxicity can spread even without active wrongdoing.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 3.24 mean?
उत्सीदेयुः इमे लोकाः — these worlds would perish; न कुर्याम् कर्म चेत् अहम् — if I did not perform action; सङ्करस्य च कर्ता स्याम् — I would be the author of confusion / chaos; उपहन्याम् इमाः प्रजाः — and would destroy these beings.
Where does verse 3.24 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 24 of 43 in Chapter 3, Karma Yoga. The next verse is 3.25.