Bhagavad Gita 4.8

For the protection of the good, the destruction of the wicked, and the establishment of dharma, I appear in every age.

This verse completes the thought of 4.7, specifying the threefold purpose of divine manifestation: protection of sincere seekers, removal of what opposes dharma, and the re-establishment of right order. Read together with 4.7, these verses offer one of the most quoted statements of the avatara doctrine in all of Hindu literature.

Align yourself with the good in yourself and in your community. The forces that protect dharma work through sincere human action as much as through miraculous intervention.