Bhagavad Gita 4.7
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata | abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmy aham ||
Translation
Whensoever, O descendant of Bharata, dharma is in decay and adharma rises up, then I send myself forth.
Reflection
Where in your life is dharma withering while adharma rises, and what is waiting to be sent forth?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Four
The most quoted verse of the chapter. Yadā yadā, whensoever, whensoever. The repetition holds the answer to how often: as often as needed. Glāni, withering. Abhyutthāna, rising up. The pair makes the diagnosis precise. Not adharma's arrival, which is constant, but adharma rising while dharma withers, the tipping point. Tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmi aham, then I send forth myself. The verb is one of self-emission, not external creation. The lord does not commission; he emerges. Aurobindo reads the verse as the rhythm of the cosmos, not a one-time promise.