Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 13

The Blessed Lord said:

1. I told this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvat; Vivasvat told it to Manu; and Manu told it to Ikshvâku.

2. Thus handed down in regular succession, the royal sages knew it. This Yoga, by long lapse of time, declined in this world, O burner of foes.

3. I have this day told you that same ancient Yoga, for you are My devotee, and My friend, and this secret is profound indeed. 

Arjuna said: 

4. Later was Your birth, and that of Vivasvat prior; how then should I understand that You told this in the beginning? 

The Blessed Lord said: 

5. Many are the births that have been passed by Me and you, O Arjuna. I know them all, while you know not, O scorcher of foes. 

6. Though I am unborn, of changeless nature and Lord of beings, yet subjugating My Prakriti, I come into being by My own Mâyâ (Appearance). 

7. Whenever, O descendant of Bharata, there is decline of Dharma, and rise of Adharma, then I body Myself forth. 

8. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of Dharma, I come into being in every age. 

9. He who thus knows, in true light, My divine birth and action, leaving the body, is not born again: he attains to Me, O Arjuna.

10. Freed from attachment, fear, and anger, absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me, purified by the fire of Knowledge, many have attained My Being. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 4:1-10

IMAGE: The Dashavatara, the ten avatars of Vishnu