Shloka 8

ध्यानयोगः — Dhyāna-Yoga

Discipline of Meditation and Mental Restraint

Devanagari script

परित्राणाय साधूनां: विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्‌ः । धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे,साधु पुरुषोंका उद्धार करनेके लिये, पाप-कर्म करनेवालोंका विनाश करनेके लिये और धर्मकी अच्छी तरहसे स्थापना करनेके लिये* मैं युग-युगमें प्रकट हुआ करता हूँ

Transliteration

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām | dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge ||

Translation

To protect the righteous, to destroy those who commit wrongdoing, and to firmly re-establish dharma, I manifest myself age after age.

Word by Word

• परित्राणाय: for the protection/deliverance
• परित्राणाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: परित्राण
• Form: Neuter, Dative, Singular

• साधूनाम्: of the good (people)
• साधूनाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• विनाशाय: for the destruction
• विनाशाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विनाश
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• दुष्कृताम्: of the evil-doers / wrongdoers
• दुष्कृताम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुष्कृत
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय: for the purpose of establishing dharma
• धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मसंस्थापनार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• सम्भवामि: I arise / I come into being (incarnate)
• सम्भवामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + भू
• Form: Present (Lat), First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• युगे: in (each) age
• युगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• युगे: in (every) age
• युगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• sādhūḥ (the righteous)
• duṣkṛtaḥ (wrongdoers)
• dharma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that divine manifestation has an ethical purpose: safeguarding the virtuous, curbing destructive wrongdoing, and restoring dharma when it declines—reaffirming moral order as a recurring necessity across ages.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the midst of the Kurukṣetra context, a divine speaker explains the reason for appearing in the world: intervention is not arbitrary but aimed at protecting the righteous community, ending oppressive wrongdoing, and re-establishing dharma whenever it is threatened.