If Kṛṣṇa says 'whenever' (yadā yadā) rather than naming a fixed schedule, what does that imply about divine intervention — is it responsive, or is the decline itself pre-known and pre-ordained?

Whenever righteousness withers and lawlessness rises, Arjuna, I bring myself forth. See seven-school commentary at https://gita.ekrasworks.com/gita/4/7.

Śaṅkara glosses dharma as varnāśrama-dharma specifically; Madhusūdana adds the pravṛtti-nivṛtti dimension. Does the verse's claim depend on one of these readings, or does its logic hold across both?

Whenever righteousness withers and lawlessness rises, Arjuna, I bring myself forth. See seven-school commentary at https://gita.ekrasworks.com/gita/4/7.

All schools agree that both conditions must obtain simultaneously — dharma's glāni and adharma's abhyutthāna. What is the significance of requiring both, rather than either alone triggering the avatāra?

Whenever righteousness withers and lawlessness rises, Arjuna, I bring myself forth. See seven-school commentary at https://gita.ekrasworks.com/gita/4/7.

Vallabha reads this verse with 4.8 as a single utterance; Śaṅkara reads it as a question-answer unit ('kimartham?'). Does the verse's meaning change substantially depending on where the unit-boundary is drawn?

Whenever righteousness withers and lawlessness rises, Arjuna, I bring myself forth. See seven-school commentary at https://gita.ekrasworks.com/gita/4/7.

Rāmānuja insists svāsaṅkalpena (by His own sankalpa); Śaṅkara insists māyayā. For a practitioner, does it matter whether the avatāra's body is real or apparent — and why would it?

Whenever righteousness withers and lawlessness rises, Arjuna, I bring myself forth. See seven-school commentary at https://gita.ekrasworks.com/gita/4/7.

The verse is addressed to Arjuna as 'Bhārata.' Madhusūdana offers a double gloss (lineage vs. nature). Which reading of the address makes Arjuna a more appropriate recipient of this cosmic disclosure?

Whenever righteousness withers and lawlessness rises, Arjuna, I bring myself forth. See seven-school commentary at https://gita.ekrasworks.com/gita/4/7.

Every school frames the avatāra as a corrective event. Does this frame imply that without periodic divine intervention, human civilization inevitably drifts toward adharma — and what are the practical consequences of accepting or rejecting that claim?

Whenever righteousness withers and lawlessness rises, Arjuna, I bring myself forth. See seven-school commentary at https://gita.ekrasworks.com/gita/4/7.

BG 4.7 — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 4.7Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · Bhārata · anuṣṭubh

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर् भवति भारत ।

अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥

yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata

abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmy aham

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Whenever righteousness withers and lawlessness rises, Arjuna, I bring myself forth.

ekras · bhāṣya

Two co-present conditions, not one. Dharma's diminution alone is not enough; adharma's rising alone is not enough. When both happen together — the dharmic structure faltering and the adharmic structure swelling into the void — Krishna says atmanam srijamy aham. I bring myself forth. The verb srijami is the same root as sarga, creation. The avatara is a kind of self-emission.

Shridhara reads glani precisely as hani — diminution, not mere moral slippage. Dharma can shrink in three ways: shastra-knowledge fading from the people, qualified teachers ceasing to be available, the social structures that supported dharmic life weakening. Each is glani; together with adharma's abhyutthana they trigger the descent.

Madhusudana holds the metaphysical paradox carefully: Krishna is sat-chid-ananda-ghana, yet behaves dehi-vat — like an embodied being. The two facts are not contradictory because the dehi-vat behavior is a deliberate lila, not a forced incarnation.

Vallabha pairs 4.7 with 4.8 as one continuous statement: the temporal triggers are dharma's glani and adharma's abhyutthana, but the deeper motivation throughout is lila-prasada — Krishna's own grace-impulse. The famous yuge yuge of 4.8 is anticipated here. The avatara is not a one-time event in cosmic history; it is a periodic correction whenever the conditions return.

Context

where

Chapter 4 · Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna · vocative Bhārata

preceded by — BG 4.6

Though birthless and imperishable, the lord of all beings, I take on my own nature by my own power and come into being.

What's going on

Whenever righteousness withers and lawlessness rises, Arjuna, I bring myself forth.

Sūtras through this verse (51)

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

3.3One path, two grades: impure, then pure mind.───→here4.7───→4.39Faith earns knowing; work readies that faith.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseasebetween

2.69Ignorance is night, wisdom alone wakes.───→here4.7───→4.42Cut the heart's doubt with the sword of knowledge.

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulebetween

2.18'Imperishable' is said to mark off the Lord.───→here4.7───→4.24Every word for ritual points back to Viṣṇu.

show all 51

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionstation

───→here4.7───→

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbabetween · other

2.18Image perishes, source endures───→here4.7───→4.13Creates yet uncreated

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesbetween

4.6Avatāras differ in their fullness of Hari.───→here4.7───→6.9Devas, asuras, mortals are three native kinds.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksbetween

2.18The image perishes, but the source endures.───→here4.7───→4.13He creates and yet is uncreated by it.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadbetween

2.72The verse closes with the Akṣapāda rejection.───→here4.7───→4.8Ṛgveda khilas explain the descent as play.

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordbetween

4.6Even the unborn descends through the deluder Durgā.───→here4.7───→7.4Eight elements name the inert side of nature.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirebetween

2.55'Self' here means mind — a single word redirects.───→here4.7───→4.11'Me' is glossed by what the speaker is doing.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homeapproach

───→here4.7───→6.47Be a devotee: that is the meaning.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayapproach

───→here4.7───→4.11However they come, I meet them so.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugeapproach

───→here4.7───→4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned aloneapproach

───→here4.7───→4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineapproach

───→here4.7───→5.1Settling the doubt: renounce or work?

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

2.69Wisdom rises; ignorance fades like dawn-darkness.───→here4.7───→4.18See not-doing in doing, doing in not-doing.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it werebetween

4.6I appear as if born, never really, by māyā.───→here4.7───→4.9My birth and acts are not of this world.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldbetween

3.25The wise act as the unwise, but unattached.───→here4.7───→4.18The post-knowledge actor does no action at all.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

3.4Brāhmaṇas seek the Self by Veda, then by rite.───→here4.7───→4.13The four orders are the Puruṣa's own body.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)between

2.47Hold no mine-ness on body or on fruit.───→here4.7───→4.23Clinging to anything is what binds you.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

3.35Your own flawed work beats another's perfect.───→here4.7───→4.13The four orders are His own creation.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roombetween

2.55Each path names its sage in its own words.───→here4.7───→4.23Action's flagship verse: it dissolves itself.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here4.7───→

ŚaṅkaraclassicalH

The Lord is friend of every beingapproach

───→here4.7───→5.29Friend of all beings, the witness of every act.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartapproach

───→here4.7───→6.30See Me everywhere, I am never lost.

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Cyclic time. 'Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati Bharata.' Gaurav uses this lstation · station 1/8

───→here4.7───→

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractstation

───→here4.7───→

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

3.20Janaka, lokasangraha───→here4.7───→4.18Action in inaction

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterbetween · v2

2.22Worn-out garments───→here4.7───→4.16Even the wise are confused

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

3.30Surrender every act.───→here4.7───→4.24Brahman the offering, Brahman the offerer.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerbetween

4.6Self-power, not self-illusion.───→here4.7───→7.14Māyā is real wonder, not unreality.

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

4.1Four-verse prelude names avatāra-līlā.───→here4.7───→5.1Single-verse prelude sets sannyāsa-yoga eka.

Ekrasmodernmeditation

Meditation — the dhyāna tourapproach · v2

───→here4.7───→6.10Solitary seat

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsapproach

───→here4.7───→4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologyapproach

───→here4.7───→4.11'Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.' As they approach me, so I

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)approach

───→here4.7───→5.1A four-clause summary of all of 2 through 4.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyaapproach

───→here4.7───→4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlyapproach

───→here4.7───→4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentaryapproach

───→here4.7───→6.47Six chapters of aphorism close at this verse.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here4.7───→

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaexit

2.11'Ashochyan anvashochas tvam prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase.' You grieve those not t───→here4.7───→

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyabetween

4.1Three blocks named at the chapter head.───→here4.7───→6.1Karma-yoga is outer; samādhi-yoga inner.

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsbetween

3.15Brahmodbhavam — born of parabrahman.───→here4.7───→4.11Mām is Viṣṇu, not generic absolute.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitapproach

───→here4.7───→4.11Fruit proportional to the service offered.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologybetween

3.3Vaidika action sorted by life-stage rule.───→here4.7───→4.18Action-in-inaction needs the typology.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhibetween

3.4No mokṣa from mere non-starting.───→here4.7───→4.18Action-in-inaction: the upādhi seen. Anchor.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departurebetween

4.6Creator and non-doer held both at once.───→here4.7───→4.13Four orders made by the one who stays equal.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

3.30Karma offered to the indweller becomes worship.───→here4.7───→4.33Knowledge-rite outranks mere material rites.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionapproach

───→here4.7───→4.14Recognize, do not learn — the verb shifts.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionapproach

───→here4.7───→4.11'Yathā' is open; the verb is the gate.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

3.1The grand architecture cannot mix the two.───→here4.7───→4.34Approach a knower; knowing is not earned by action.

Śabda · lemmas (12 unique · 13 occurrences)

धर्मस्य dharma — duty, law, righteousness; the principle of right action; one's own nature (sva-dharma) · genitive masculine singular noun
भवति √bhū — to be, become; the earth (verbal root / noun) · present indicative 3rd person singular verb
भारत bhārata — descendant of Bharata; epithet of Arjuna · vocative masculine singular noun
अधर्मस्य adharma — unrighteousness (a- + dharma) · genitive masculine singular noun
अभ्युत्थानम् abhyutthāna — rising up, ascendancy (abhi- + ud- + √sthā) · nominative neuter singular noun

show all 12

यदा yadā ×2 — when
हि hi — for, indeed, because (particle)
ग्लानिः glāni — exhaustion, decline, decay (from √glai) · nominative feminine singular noun
तदा tadā — then, at that time
आत्मानम् ātman — the Self, soul; one's own self · accusative masculine singular noun
सृजामि √sṛj — to release, create, emit (verbal root) · present indicative 1st person singular verb
अहम् mad — I, me (1st person pronoun stem); also: to rejoice (verbal root) · nominative singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01If Kṛṣṇa says 'whenever' (yadā yadā) rather than naming a fixed schedule, what does that imply about divine intervention — is it responsive, or is the decline itself pre-known and pre-ordained?
02Śaṅkara glosses dharma as varnāśrama-dharma specifically; Madhusūdana adds the pravṛtti-nivṛtti dimension. Does the verse's claim depend on one of these readings, or does its logic hold across both?

show all 7

03All schools agree that both conditions must obtain simultaneously — dharma's glāni and adharma's abhyutthāna. What is the significance of requiring both, rather than either alone triggering the avatāra?
04Vallabha reads this verse with 4.8 as a single utterance; Śaṅkara reads it as a question-answer unit ('kimartham?'). Does the verse's meaning change substantially depending on where the unit-boundary is drawn?
05Rāmānuja insists svāsaṅkalpena (by His own sankalpa); Śaṅkara insists māyayā. For a practitioner, does it matter whether the avatāra's body is real or apparent — and why would it?
06The verse is addressed to Arjuna as 'Bhārata.' Madhusūdana offers a double gloss (lineage vs. nature). Which reading of the address makes Arjuna a more appropriate recipient of this cosmic disclosure?
07Every school frames the avatāra as a corrective event. Does this frame imply that without periodic divine intervention, human civilization inevitably drifts toward adharma — and what are the practical consequences of accepting or rejecting that claim?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

Recognise the recurring glāni in your own mind — the moments when viveka (discriminative clarity) fades and āsakti (attachment) rises — as the personal scale of dharma-decline. The avatāra does not descend into the cosmos without first descending into awareness. The practice: when confusion increases, do not wait for external correction; invoke svādhyāya (scriptural study) and satsaṅga as the internal māyā-dissolving mechanism that re-establishes the jñāna-mārga footing.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Your kartavya — the duties belonging to your station — is not a bureaucratic rule but the dharma the Veda has ordained as the structure of your participation in Bhagavān's body. When those duties feel hollow or are eroded by circumstance, treat that erosion as a signal: this is the condition Bhagavān responds to with His own sankalpa. Perform your kartavya as kainkarya (loving service), trusting that the Lord's responsive sovereignty is already engaged.

show all 6

Dvaita

The verse teaches that you are not equipped to restore dharma by your own power — that is the lesson of jīva's dependence. When you see adharma rising in your environment, the correct response is not autonomous heroic action but surrender to Hari's icchā: pray, chant His names, align your will with His. The avatāra's work proceeds through devotees who acknowledge their instrument-status rather than usurping the Lord's sovereign role.

Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha's mother-analogy is the key: Kṛṣṇa's corrective appearances are not punitive interruptions of ordinary life but expressions of overflowing grace (puṣṭi). In daily life, when you must both protect what is right and confront what is harmful, do so without inner cruelty or sentimental attachment — model the avatāra's own equipoise. Receive every difficulty as a form of Kṛṣṇa's līlā-presence rather than cosmic malfunction.

Bhakti

Train yourself to read the two-part diagnostic: glāni (hāni of what should be present) and abhyutthāna (ādhikya of what should be absent). In any community or relationship, apply this dyad before acting: have both conditions genuinely obtained, or is only one present? Śrīdhara's minimalist gloss counsels restraint — do not invoke the language of dharma-crisis for every friction; the verse requires the full dyad before the response is warranted.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's double gloss on 'Bhārata' — lineage or one who delights in knowledge — is the invitation: cultivate the second meaning actively. Become the one who cannot bear the loss of clarity and dharma in their environment, not out of anxious moralism but because your nature is rasa (delight in truth). When you see nānāvidha-duḥkha (manifold suffering) multiplying around you, let that be the trigger that sends you to the text, the teacher, the practice — trusting that the eternally-perfected form is already present, waiting to be seen.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 4, Verse 7: Krishna to Arjuna — Jñāna-Karma-Sannyāsa-Yoga