Bhagavatgita a detailed study-chapter1

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39. kulakshaye praNaSyanthi kulaDharmaaH sanaathanaaH

Dharme nashte kulam krthsnam aDharmo

Abhibhavathyutha

When the clan is ruined the ancient dharma of the clan is destroyed. When the dharma is lost adharma takes over the whole clan.

 

40.adharmaabhibhavaath krshNa pradhushyanthi kulashriyaH

sthreeshu dhushtaasu vaarshNeya jaayathe varNasankaraH

 

When adharma prevails the women of the clan are corrupted and when they become corrupt the intermixture of castes results.

Krishna is called VarshNeya as he was born in the VrishNikula. Probably Arjuna reminds him of his kula to emphasise the importance of preserving the kula.

 

41, sankaro narakaaya eva kulaghnaanaam kulasya cha

pathanthi pitharo hi eshaam lupthapindodhakakriyaaH

 

The mixture of castes leads to hell the clan as well as its destroyers. Their pithrs deprived of the offerings of food and water also fall.

 

42.dhoshaih ethaiH kulaghnaanaam varnasankarakaarakaiH

uthsaadhyanthe jaathiDharmaaH kulaDharmaaH cha

SaaSvathaaH

 

By these faults of the destroyers of the clan who cause the admixture of castes, the vatrnasramadharma is destroyed.

 

43.uthsannakulaDharmaaNaam manushyaaNaam janaardhana

narake niyatham vaasaH bhavathi ithi anuSuSruma

 

We have heard that for men whose kuladharma is thus destroyed , residence in hell is ordained.

 

44.aho batha mahath paapam karthum vyavasithaa vayam

yah raajya sukha lobhena svajanam hanthum udhyathaaH

 

Alas! We have decided on committing a great sin by killing our own people for the desire of kingdom and the pleasures of it.

 

45. yadhi maam apratheekaaram aSasthram SashrapaaNayaH

Dhaarthraashtraa raNe hanyuH thath me kshematharam

Bhaveth

 

If these sons of Dhrthrashtra armed with weapons kill us who are unresisting and unarmed it will only be better for me.

 

What Arjuna wanted to convey by these slokas is that the traditional values and code of conduct are communicated by the elders of a community and the law givers of a country. If the war destroys them all there would be no guidance available to the next generation and lawlessness and licentiousness will result. He says that the women will become corrupt because in a patriarchal society women are guided by men. When the women become misguided the next generation will also become corrupt as the mother is the first teacher of a child. When the tradition is no more followed such malpractices like admixture of varna and asrama will result. When the varnasramadharma is not practised the people will lose the faith in dictates of sasthra and give up the ritualistic action like sraaddha etc. which will effect the degradation of the pithrs who depend on the offering of food during the sraaddhas. Thus those who perpetrate such evil will be confounded in hell. So Arjuna said that he did not want to be the cause of the chaos that will result by fighting with one's own kith and kin. He went to the extreme of saying that not only he would not fight but if the sons of Dhrtharashtra continue to attack him even when seeing that he was unarmed and unresisting it is better he gets killed.

 

Thus Arjuna was lecturing on dharma to the one, who said later `parithraaNaaya saaDhoonaam vinaaSaaya cha dhushkrthaam, dharan masamsThaapanaarThyaaya sambahavaami yuge yuge,'

the Lord who incarnates in every yuga to protect dharma. and also who said, `sarvaDharmaan parithyajya maam ekam SaraNamvrja, aham thvaam sarvapaapebhyaH mokshayishyaami,' that He will save those who surrender to Him from all sins.

 

Sanjaya uvaacha

 

47.Evam ukthvaa arjunaH sankhye raThopasThaH upaaviSath

visrjya saSaram chaapam Soka samvighnamaanasaH

 

Sanjatya said,

 

Thus saying on the battlefield, Arjuna sat on the seat of the chariot putting aside his bow and arrow with heart full of sorrow.

 

Thus ends the first chapter of the Gita known as `the despondency of Arjuna. Fr the next chapter the real essence of the Gita is found, spooned out by the Lord for the sake of Arjuna and the whole humanity.

 

The battle of Mahabharata signifies the fight between the evil and the good impulses in man that ever goes on within. The good impulses are fewer in number like the Pandava army while the bad impulses are comparatively greater in number. But with divine grace good always triumphs over the wicked. When the mind is turned towards God ,man hears the sound of the Panchajanya , which becomes divine music that rouses the satvik, noble, quelling the rajasic dynamic and tamasic lower impulses.. The power of music in restraining the animal passions and evoking finer sentiments in the listener is due to the manifestation of divinity through music. The inner self rises in its pristine purity above the sense experience to merge with the divine.But to reach that state one has to become aware of the divinity within and invoke the Lord , the true self of all beings. Arjuna requested Lord Krishna to become his charioteer and the Lord consented. Similarly one has to ask for His help to be saved from disaster. When He becomes our sarathy as He did for Arjuna , with Parthasarathy on our side the victory is ours.