偈颂 3.243.13.23.33.43.53.63.73.83.93.103.113.123.133.143.153.163.173.183.193.203.213.223.233.243.253.263.273.283.293.303.313.323.333.343.353.363.373.383.393.403.413.423.43

These worlds would perish if I did not perform action; I should be the author of confusion of castes and destruction of these beings.

If I did not act, these worlds would fall into ruin; I would be the cause of confusion and would destroy these people.

Krishna completes the thought. If he ceased to act, the worlds would collapse, and he would be responsible for disorder and the ruin of beings. The word saṅkara, confusion or mixture, echoes Arjuna's fear in the first chapter that war would bring disorder to society. Krishna turns the argument around: it is not action but the abandonment of rightful action that produces chaos. Arjuna worried that fighting would destroy social order; Krishna suggests that refusing his duty would be the greater threat to it.