Bhagavad Gita 4.8
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 8 of 42
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् । धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṃ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām | dharma-saṃsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge ||
For the protection of the good, destruction of wickedness, establishment of dharma — I come, age after age.
Word by word (3)
- paritrāṇāya sādhūnām
- — for the protection of the good · Paritrāṇa = complete protection, deliverance (pari = complete + trāṇa = protection, from trā = to protect/cross over). Sādhūnām = of the sādhus — the good, the righteous, the sincere practitioners (from sādh = to accomplish, to straighten). Not just 'good people' generically but those genuinely oriented toward dharma and liberation.
- vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
- — and for the destruction of the wicked · Vināśa = destruction, cessation (vi+nāśa = complete destruction). Duṣkṛtām = of the evil-doers (duṣ = bad/evil + kṛta = done — those whose actions are destructive of dharma). Not destroyed as people per se but as forces of adharma — the principle must be defeated.
- dharma-saṃsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge
- — for the re-establishment of dharma — I come into being age after age · Dharma-saṃsthāpana = establishment/firm-founding of dharma (saṃ+sthāpana = firmly establishing). Arthāya = for the purpose of. Sambhavāmi = I come into being (same word as V6). Yuge yuge = age after age (yuga = age/epoch — the four yugas of Hindu cosmology; the repetition emphasizes the universal recurring principle). The most famous repetition in the entire Gita — three words that carry the cosmic promise.
For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, for the establishment of dharma — I come into being age after age.
A modern analogy
History shows a pattern: in every age of extreme injustice, figures arise who embody the corrective principle — the abolitionists, the freedom fighters, the healers, the truth-tellers. Not because they planned to, but because something in the situation called them forth. This verse: this is the cosmic law stated as divine promise — yuge yuge, age after age.
Take with you
- Three-fold purpose: protect the good, destroy the wicked, establish dharma. All three are necessary — not one alone.
- Yuge yuge — the promise is universal and recurring, not a one-time historical event.
- The Gita being spoken is itself the manifestation just described — the divine responding to a moment of crisis, the dharma-teaching appearing when it is needed.
- This verse gives every genuine dharmic action its cosmic context — you participate in the yuge yuge pattern.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
For the protection of the virtuous, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of righteousness, I am born in every age. [1]
For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of righteousness, I am born in every age. [4]
For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of righteousness, I am born in every age. [6]
For the salvation of the good, For the destruction of the evil, For the firm establishment of righteousness — I come in age after age. [7]
For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the evil-doers, for the sake of establishing righteousness, I am born from age to age. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
For those who worship Me with undivided thought, always steadfast — I carry what they lack and guard what they have.
Whoever does not turn the cosmic wheel of giving — living only for sense-pleasure — lives in vain.
I am Time, the world-destroyer — even without you, none of these warriors shall survive; they are already slain!
The sound of righteous forces pierces the hearts of those who know they are on the wrong side.
Arjuna calls Duryodhana evil-minded — the last moment of moral clarity before grief clouds everything.
Verse 8 of 42 · back to Chapter 4