|| 3.24 ||
उत्सीदेयुरिमे लोका न कुर्यां कर्म चेदहम्। सङ्करस्य च कर्ता स्यामुपहन्यामिमाः प्रजाः।।
utsīdeyu r ime lokā na kuryāṁ karma ced aham saṅkarasya ca kartā syām upahanyām imāḥ prajāḥ
Word by Word
utsīdeyuḥ (would be put to ruin) ime (all these) lokāḥ (worlds) na (not) kuryām (I perform) karma (work) cet (if) aham (I) saṅkarasya (of unwanted population) ca (and) kartā (creator) syām (would be) upahanyām (would destroy) imāḥ (all these) prajāḥ (living entities)
Translation
If I did not perform prescribed duties, all these worlds would be put to ruination. I would be the cause of creating unwanted population, and I would thereby destroy the peace of all living beings.
Meaning
Kṛṣṇa describes the literal collapse of the world if He were to stop working. He says all these worlds would fall into ruin. Furthermore, He would be the cause of creating ‘saṅkara’, or a chaotic and unwanted population, and He would be the destroyer of all living beings.
If the Supreme Controller stopped maintaining the laws of nature—gravity, the movement of the sun, the growth of food—the physical universe would dissolve. Similarly, if He stopped maintaining the moral laws by setting a bad example, the social universe would dissolve into anarchy and irreligion.
Arjuna must see that his decision to quit is not just a personal choice; it is a vote for chaos. By neglecting his duty as a leader, he is contributing to the ruin of the very people he claims to care about. Kṛṣṇa fights to maintain the structure of reality, and He expects Arjuna to do the same in his own sphere.