Whenever there is a decline in dharma… I create myself. I come into being from age to age with the purpose of fixing dharma. ¹

With these words near the beginning of the Bhagavad Gītā , Kṛṣṇa explains to Arjuna the fundamental reason for his incarnation on earth at the time of the Mahābhārata war between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas; a cataclysmic war in which almost all of the combatants perished. Dharma is a term that defies translation. It encompasses notions of law, duty, ethics, justice and religion, and is reflected in the norms of duty or conduct allotted to each individual, usually by reference to his or her status within society, sex and/or stage of life. The idea of “fixing” dharma suggests