Bg. 1.39 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

कुलक्षये प्रणश्यन्ति कुलधर्माः सनातनाः । धर्मे नष्टे कुलं कृत्स्नमधर्मोऽभिभवत्युत ॥ ३९ ॥

Verse text

kula-kṣaye praṇaśyanti kula-dharmāḥ sanātanāḥ dharme naṣṭe kulaṁ kṛtsnam adharmo ’bhibhavaty uta

Synonyms

kula-kṣaye — in destroying the family ; praṇaśyanti — become vanquished ; kula-dharmāḥ — the family traditions ; sanātanāḥ — eternal ; dharme — religion ; naṣṭe — being destroyed ; kulam — family ; kṛtsnam — whole ; adharmaḥ — irreligion ; abhibhavati — transforms ; uta — it is said.

Translation

With the destruction of the dynasty, the eternal family tradition is vanquished, and thus the rest of the family becomes involved in irreligion.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

39. With the destruction of the family, the eternal proper conduct of the family is destroyed. When that dharma is destroyed, the family is completely filled with adharma.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

39. With the destruction of the family, the traditional rules of conduct of the family are destroyed. When that dharma is destroyed, adharma will conquer all the remaining members of the family.

Translation (Bhurijana Dasa)

With the destruction of dynasty, the eternal family tradition is vanquished, and thus the rest of the family becomes involved in irreligion. (cn/DS) If Arjuna would kill his grandfather Bhisma and his teacher Drona, then the women would say that Arjuna and the other menfolk are engaged in irreligious acts so they also could do it. And then,

Purport

In the system of the varṇāśrama institution there are many principles of religious traditions to help members of the family grow properly and attain spiritual values. The elder members are responsible for such purifying processes in the family, beginning from birth to death. But on the death of the elder members, such family traditions of purification may stop, and the remaining younger family members may develop irreligious habits and thereby lose their chance for spiritual salvation. Therefore, for no purpose should the elder members of the family be slain.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The right conduct maintained by the family, which has been passed down from many generations (sanātanāḥ kula-dharmāḥ), will be destroyed with the destruction of the family (kula-kṣaye).

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

In this verse Arjuna expands upon the sin of destroying the family. The religious activities such as fire sacrifice (kula dharmāḥ) which have been obtained through the family traditions (sanatanāḥ) will be destroyed because of destruction of the performers. The word uta here means “even,” and is linked to kṛtsnam. With the destruction of performance of religious activities, irreligion will conquer (abhibhavati) even (uta) all the remaining family members consisting of small children and others.