BHAGAVAD-GITA 1:40

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 1:40

 

adharmabhibhavat krsna

pradusyanti kula-striyah

strisu dustasu varsneya

jayate varna-sankarah

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

adharma--irreligion; abhibhavat--having become predominant; krsna--O

Krsna; pradusyanti--become polluted; kula-striyah--family ladies;

strisu--by the womanhood; dustasu--being so polluted; varsneya--O

descendant of Vrsni; jayate--comes into being;

varna-sankarah--unwanted progeny.

 

TRANSLATION

 

When irreligion is prominent in the family, O Krsna, the women of the

family become polluted, and from the degradation of womanhood, O

descendant of Vrsni, comes unwanted progeny.

 

PURPORT

 

Good population in human society is the basic principle for peace,

prosperity and spiritual progress in life. The varnasrama religion's

principles were so designed that the good population would prevail in

society for the general spiritual progress of state and community.

Such population depends on the chastity and faithfulness of its

womanhood. As children are very prone to be misled, women are

similarly very prone to degradation. Therefore, both children and

women require protection by the elder members of the family. By being

engaged in various religious practices, women will not be misled into

adultery. According to Canakya Pandita, women are generally not very

intelligent and therefore not trustworthy. So the different family

traditions of religious activities should always engage them, and thus

their chastity and devotion will give birth to a good population

eligible for participating in the varnasrama system. On the failure of

such varnasrama-dharma, naturally the women become free to act and mix

with men, and thus adultery is indulged in at the risk of unwanted

population. Irresponsible men also provoke adultery in society, and

thus unwanted children flood the human race at the risk of war and

pestilence.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.