Sanskrit

यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः ।

स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ॥

3.21

Transliteration

yadyadācarati śreṣṭhastattadevetaro janaḥ |

sa yatpramāṇaṃ kurute lokastadanuvartate ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

Whatsoever a great man does, that the other men also do; whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world (mankind) follows.

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By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

Krishna states a simple truth about human society: people imitate those they look up to. Whatever a leading person does becomes a pattern, and the standard such a person sets is followed by others. The point bears directly on Arjuna, who is one of the most admired warriors of his age. If he abandons his duty, others will take that as permission to abandon theirs. The verse explains why lokasaṅgraha, the welfare of the world, depends so much on the conduct of those in prominent positions.

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08