Chapter1- Ślokās 40,41,*42
kula-kṣaye praṇaśyanti kula-dharmāḥ sanātanāḥ |
dharme naṣṭe kulaṃ kṛtsnam adharmo’bhibhavaty-uta || 40 ||
adharmābhibhavāt kṛṣṇa praduṣyanti kula-striyaḥ |
strīṣu duṣṭāsu vārṣṇeya jāyate varṇa-saṇkaraḥ || 41 ||
saṇkaro narakāyaiva kula-ghnānāṃ kulasya ca |
(1.40, 1.41, *1.42)
kulakṣaye(sati)- in the destruction of the clan; kula dharmāḥ- family traditions; sanātanāḥ- followed from eternal time; praṇaśyanti- perish; dharme naṣṭe(sati)- when traditions perish; adharmaḥ uta- unrighteousness; abhibhavati- engulfs and overpowers; kṛtsnam kulaṃ- the whole clan; adharmābhi bhavān- due to prevailing unrighteousness (on the clan); vārṣṇeya- O Kṛṣṇa!; kula striyaḥ praduṣyanti- the women of the clan become impure; strīṣu duṣṭāsu (satīṣu)- due to this impurity of the family women; varṇa saṇkaraḥ- mixing of the 4 classes; jāyate- will happen; saṇkaraḥ- intermixing of classes; narakāya eva- certainly leads to hell; kula ghnānāṃ- for the destroyers of the clan; kulasya ca- as well as the clan too;
Purport
Arjuna went on to strengthen his viewpoint with supporting arguments as per his understanding of the śastras
and presented the same to Kṛṣṇa as follows, "When the clan is destroyed, its age-old traditions perish and when traditions perish unrighteousness takes over. O Kṛṣṇa! When unrighteousness prevails, the women of the clan become impure and when women become impure the resulting progeny leads to intermixture of varṇas (the four classes in society). This mixing of classes leads the clan as well as the destroyers of the clan to hell.”
adharmābhibhavāt The way a tree grows upwards, the defects of the mind also grow. Family traditions keep a check on the growth of these defects and allow righteousness to prevail. When these traditions get destroyed with the destruction of the clan i.e the men folk of the clan gets killed in the war, unrighteousness rises and eventually engulfs the whole clan.
praduṣyanti kula striyaḥ When unrighteousness thus prevails in the society, the women of the clan become impure. Here impurity refers to the immoral bodily relations and the resulting illegitimate children (garbhadōṣaṃ). These children cannot be said to belong to a particular varṇa or class due to the intermixing. The varṇa system is absolutely necessary for the proper functioning of the society. Its corruption causes disorder in the entire population.
vārṣṇeya One who brings glory to the Vṛṣṇi clan is called Vārṣṇeya. Since Kṛṣṇa brought unlimited glory to his Vṛṣṇi clan HE is called Vārṣṇeya. Arjuna choose to address Bhagawān Sri Kṛṣṇa as Vārṣṇeya here as he meant to ask Kṛṣṇa, 'O Vārṣṇeya! you have brought great glory to your Vṛṣṇi clan. Should you be guiding us towards this war which will bring disgrace to the Pāṇḍu clan which is so closely associated with yours?'