FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.24.56

యదా యదా హి ధర్మస్య క్షయో వృద్ధిశ్చ పాప్మన: తదా తు భగవానీశ ఆత్మానం సృజతే హరి: ॥ ౫౬ ॥
yadā yadā hi dharmasya
[yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya]
kṣayo vṛddhiś ca pāpmanaḥ
[kshayo vriddhish cha paapmanah]
tadā tu bhagavān īśa
[tadaa tu bhagavaan eesha]
ātmānaṁ sṛjate hariḥ
[aatmaanam srijate harih]
yadā — whenever yadā — whenever hi — indeed dharmasya — of the principles of religion kṣayaḥ — deterioration vṛddhiḥ — increasing ca — and pāpmanaḥ — of sinful activities tadā — at that time tu — indeed bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead īśaḥ — the supreme controller ātmānam — personally sṛjate — descends hariḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yadā yadā hi dharmasya
yadā
whenever
yadā
whenever
hi
indeed
dharmasya
of the principles of religion
kṣayo vṛddhiś ca pāpmanaḥ
kṣayaḥ
deterioration
vṛddhiḥ
increasing
ca
and
pāpmanaḥ
of sinful activities
tadā tu bhagavān īśa
tadā
at that time
tu
indeed
bhagavān
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
īśaḥ
the supreme controller
ātmānaṁ sṛjate hariḥ
ātmānam
personally
sṛjate
descends
hariḥ
the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Whenever the principles of religion deteriorate and the principles of irreligion increase, the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead Śrī Hari, appears by His own will.

The principles by which an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends upon earth are explained in this verse. The same principles are also explained in Bhagavad-gītā (4.7) by the Lord Himself:

yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham

“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion — at that time I descend Myself.”

In the present age, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to inaugurate the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. At the present time, in Kali-yuga, people are extremely sinful and bad ( manda ). They have no idea of spiritual life and are misusing the benefits of the human form to live like cats and dogs. Under these circumstances Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has inaugurated the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, which is not different from Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one associates with this movement, he directly associates with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. People should take advantage of the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and thus gain relief from all the problems created in this Age of Kali.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Whenever the principles of religion deteriorate and the principles of irreligion increase, the Supreme Lord, the controller, manifests his form. This verse explains the general reason for the Lord’s appearance.
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