3-23 to 3-24

यदि हि अहम् न वर्तेयम् जातु कर्मणि अतन्द्रितः ।
मम वर्त्म अनुवर्तन्ते मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः ॥ २३ ॥
उत्सीदेयुरिमे लोकाः न कुर्याम् कर्म चेदहम् ।
सङ्करस्य च कर्ता स्याम् उपहन्याम् इमाः प्रजाः ॥ २४ ॥

yadi hi aham na varteyam jAtu karmaNi atandritaH |
mama vartma anuvartante manuSyAH pArtha sarvazaH || 23 ||
utsIdeyurime lokAH na kuryAm karma cedaham |
saGkarasya ca kartA syAm upahanyAm imAH prajAH || 24 ||

पार्थ [pArtha] Arjuna, जातु कर्मणि अतन्द्रितः न वर्तेयम् [jAtu karmaNi atandritaH na varteyam] if I am not attentive in my actions at any time, मनुष्याः [manuSyAH] all people अनुवर्तन्ते हि [anuvartante hi] will definitely follow मम वर्त्म [mama vartma] my behavior सर्वशः [sarvazaH] in every way. चेत् अहम् [cet aham] If I कर्म न कुर्याम् [karma na kuryAm] do not perform actions, इमे लोकाः [ime lokAH] these worlds उत्सीदेयुः [utsIdeyuH] will be destroyed. सङ्करस्य च कर्ता स्याम् [saGkarasya ca kartA syAm] I will be the cause of the resulting mess उपहन्याम् [upahanyAm] and the destruction of इमाः प्रजाः [imAH prajAH] these people.

I am the master of everything; My intentions are always fulfilled. Only by my will is the universe born, nourished and destroyed. This birth of mine is in the form of a man and is favorable to the people of this world. I do everything out of my own free will.

Even then, as the son of the extremely virtuous Vasudeva, suppose I am not diligent in activities that fit My clan. Other people, who are virtuous but feel incomplete would know Me as the son of a virtuous person and follow Me. They would believe whatever I do is right. They would not be diligent in performing their duties. They would default, not realizing the Self, remaining without achievement.

If I don’t perform actions according to My position, virtuous people would perceive that as ‘the right thing to do’. They would emulate My behavior and certainly perish due to inaction. In this way, by not doing My duties, I would be responsible for the destruction of virtuous people.

In the same way, you too are the son of the virtuous Pandu and the brother of Yudhishtira. If you give up your activities, people with limited knowledge who follow you would disregard their rights and give up their actions. They will be destroyed. Thus, a person who is known to be a champion must always stay in action.