Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 4, Verse 8
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय संभवामि युगे युगे।।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय संभवामि युगे युगे।।
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-sansthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge
also searched as "paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritam"
Translation
For the protection of the good and the destruction of the wicked, for the establishment of Dharma, I am born from age to age.
Vāṇi's rendering
To guard the good, to destroy the wicked, to set dharma firm again — I am born age after age.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| परित्राणायparitrāṇāya | for the rescue and safekeeping of |
| साधूनाम्sādhūnām | the good, those who live rightly |
| विनाशायvināśāya | for the undoing, the destruction of |
| चca | and |
| दुष्कृताम्duṣkṛtām | of the wicked — literally, the doers of harm |
| धर्मसंस्थापनार्थायdharma-saṁsthāpana-arthāya | for the purpose of setting dharma firmly upright again (saṁsthāpana + arthāya joined by sandhi, a + a becoming ā) |
| सम्भवामिsambhavāmi | I come fully into being, I am born |
| युगेyuge | in an age |
| युगेyuge | in an age — repeated: age after age, without end |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 8 mean?
Krishna states why he takes birth: to guard those who live rightly, to end the harm-doers, and above all to set dharma upright again. The third reason contains the first two. He is not choosing sides in a quarrel; he is straightening what has bent, and that straightening protects some and finishes others.
What does paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritam mean?
For the safekeeping of the good, for the destruction of the harm-doers. Paritrāṇa is rescue, the hand that reaches in. Vināśa is the ending of what cannot be allowed to continue. One breath holds both, because in Krishna's arithmetic they are not two errands but one — the field cleared so the crop can stand.
Does yuge yuge mean Krishna will be born again in our time?
Yuge yuge means age after age, a rhythm rather than a calendar. The Gītā does not hand you a date to wait for. It tells you that the restoring of dharma is not a single event in the past but something perpetually underway — including now, including wherever you happen to be standing.
Why would Krishna need to destroy anyone if he is compassionate?
Duṣkṛtām means the doers of harm, and their harm is what is ended. The Gītā does not soften this into metaphor. But notice the aim named last and longest: dharma set firm. Destruction here is not appetite or revenge; it is what remains necessary when a thing has become purely a weight on the world.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Three purposes, and only one arrival. Krishna does not come for the good and, separately, against the wicked; guarding and destroying are one motion, the way clearing a field is one act. Notice what is not said: he does not come when the good pray hard enough. He comes when dharma sags. The protection is a by-product of the setting-right. And yuge yuge — age after age — means this is not one rescue in one century but a rhythm, still running. When something in you falls out of true, the correction is already on its way. Your task is to be standing where it can reach you.