Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, Verse 24

उत्सीदेयुरिमे लोका न कुर्यां कर्म चेदहम् । सङ्करस्य च कर्ता स्यामुपहन्यामिमाः प्रजाः

utsīdeyurime lokā na kuryāṃ karma cedaham | saṅkarasya ca kartā syāmupahanyāmimāḥ prajāḥ

Translation

These worlds would be ruined if I should not perform action; I should be the cause of confusion of castes, and should destroy these creatures.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

utsīdeyuḥ

would be destroyed

ime

these

lokāḥ

worlds

na

not

kuryām

if (I) perform

karma

action

cet

if

aham

I

saṅkarasya

of confusion

ca

and

kartā

author

syām

(I) would be

upahanyām

(I) would slay

imāḥ

these

prajāḥ

peoples

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

If I should not perform action, then there would be no action conducive to the continuance of the universe, and all these worlds would fall into ruin. Moreover, I would be the author of confusion of castes, and thereby destroy these creatures.