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Chapter 1 · Verse 42 · Arjuna Visada Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 1.42

contemplative Dharma & Duty Karma & Action Relationships

Sanskrit

सङ्करो नरकायैव कुलघ्नानां कुलस्य च। पतन्ति पितरो ह्येषां लुप्तपिण्डोदकक्रियाः।।1.42।।

Transliteration

saṅkaro narakāyaiva kula-ghnānāṁ kulasya cha patanti pitaro hy eṣhāṁ lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ

हिंदी अर्थ

कुल को नष्ट करने वाले के कुल में मिश्रण (अनैतिक संतान) से नरक की प्राप्ति होती है। ऐसे कुल के पूर्वज पिंड और जल के बिना नरक में गिरते हैं।

Word by Word

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
Simplified Perspective

Arjuna trembles here at a profound law: when we abandon dharma, we don't merely wound ourselves—we fracture the sacred lineage that flows through time itself. The ancestors who poured their spiritual essence into our bloodline become forgotten, their memory dissolved, their evolutionary journey interrupted.

When we betray duty, we betray not just this moment but the very continuity of grace that holds both the living and the departed in eternal connection. In modern life, this teaches us that our choices ripple backward and forward through time—every act of integrity honors those who came before and blesses those yet to come.

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Bhagavad Gita 1.42 — BG 1.42

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Sanskrit text from the Bhagavad Gita (public domain). Commentary © Mahakatha.

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