Bhagavad Gita · Mahabharata Codex

Avatara

अवतार · avatāra

divine descent

The word itself does not occur in the Gita, but the idea is stated in chapter 4. Though unborn and lord of all beings, Krishna says, he comes into being by his own power whenever dharma declines and its opposite rises, to protect the good and re-establish dharma, age after age. Whoever truly understands this birth is not born again.

Appears in

Bhagavad Gita 4.6 · Bhagavad Gita 4.7 · Bhagavad Gita 4.8 · Bhagavad Gita 4.9