Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya Meaning: Bhagavad Gita 4.7–8, the Full Shloka
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य (yadā yadā hi dharmasya) means “whenever dharma declines”. It opens Krishna's most quoted promise in the Bhagavad Gita: whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, he comes. The promise runs over two verses, 4.7 and 4.8, and people quote them together, so the card below shows both.
The complete shloka
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmy aham
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṃ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharmasaṃsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge
Meaning in Hindi and English
English: Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, I bring myself forth. To protect the good, to destroy those who do evil, and to set dharma firmly in place, I am born age after age. It is a promise that the world is never left without help when wrong is winning.
Hindi: जब-जब धर्म की हानि और अधर्म की वृद्धि होती है, तब-तब मैं स्वयं को प्रकट करता हूँ। सज्जनों की रक्षा, दुष्टों के विनाश और धर्म की स्थापना के लिए मैं युग-युग में जन्म लेता हूँ।
Where it comes from
Bhagavad Gita 4.7–8, in the chapter on knowledge and action. In the critical edition of the Mahabharata, where the Gita sits inside the Bhishma Parva, they are 6.26.7–8. Krishna speaks them to Arjuna.
The context: Krishna has just said he taught this yoga long ago, and Arjuna asks how, since Krishna was born so recently. Krishna answers that he has had many births, and that he takes birth by his own power (4.5–6). These two verses say why. They are the root of the idea of the avatar.
The Devi Mahatmya has a matching promise from the Goddess: “इत्थं यदा यदा बाधा दानवोत्था भविष्यति”, whenever trouble rises from the demons, I will come down (Markandeya Purana 91.51).
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For more of Krishna's words, from the Gita and from the rest of the Mahabharata, read Krishna quotes with meaning. The Goddess's promise is in Durga quotes with meaning.
Questions people ask
What is the meaning of yada yada hi dharmasya in Hindi?
“जब-जब धर्म की हानि होती है”: जब-जब धर्म घटता है और अधर्म बढ़ता है, तब-तब भगवान स्वयं प्रकट होते हैं।
What is the full shloka?
Two verses: यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥ and परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् । धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥ (Gita 4.7–8)
Who said it, and to whom?
Krishna, to Arjuna, in chapter 4 of the Bhagavad Gita.
Is “sambhavami yuge yuge” a separate quote?
No. सम्भवामि युगे युगे, “I am born age after age”, is the last line of verse 4.8, the second half of the same promise.
Is it ही or हि?
हि, with a short i. It is a Sanskrit word meaning “indeed”. “यदा यदा ही” with the Hindi ही is a common slip.
Can I use it as a WhatsApp status, Instagram bio or tattoo?
Yes. The first line fits any bio; for a status, the full first verse reads well with its Hindi meaning. For a tattoo, use the exact Devanagari above.