Chapter 1, Verse 42 (Bhagavad Gita 1.42)
Chapter 1: Arjun Viṣhād Yog – Arjuna's Dilemma
Sanskrit Shloka
सङ्करो नरकायैव कुलघ्नानां कुलस्य च। पतन्ति पितरो ह्येषां लुप्तपिण्डोदकक्रियाः
Transliteration
saṅkaro narakāyaiva kula-ghnānāṁ kulasya cha patanti pitaro hy eṣhāṁ lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ
Word Meanings
saṅkaraḥ—unwanted children; narakāya—hellish; eva—indeed; kula-ghnānām—for those who destroy the family; kulasya—of the family; cha—also; patanti—fall; pitaraḥ—ancestors; hi—verily; eṣhām—their; lupta—deprived of; piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ—performances of sacrificial offerings
Translation
Confusion of castes leads to hell for the slayers of the family, for their forebears fall, deprived of the offerings of rice-balls and libations of water.
Meaning & Commentary
Arjuna expresses the psychological burden of ancestral debt, fearing that social collapse severs the spiritual continuity between generations. It signifies the anxiety that neglecting one's duty to history and lineage results in a profound loss of cosmic order and personal peace.