Bhagavad Gita
Author: Sri Krishna (as recorded by Vyasa)
Tradition: Sanskrit — Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva
The Song of the Lord. Chapter 4 declares the purpose of the divine descent (avatara).
Bhagavad Gita 4.7–4.8
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata... paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām | dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge ||
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत। ... परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्। धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे॥
Whenever there is a decline of dharma and a rise of adharma, O Bharata, then I send forth Myself. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of dharma, I am born age after age.
Krishna’s declaration of the purpose of the avatara — the descent of the Lord to protect the righteous, destroy the wicked, and re-establish dharma. This is the theological seed of which the Rama-avatara is a supreme flowering.
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License / provenance: Root verse is public-domain Sanskrit; excerpt for study. Translation paraphrased; full text at holy-bhagavad-gita.org.