Bhagavad Gita - Daily One Verse Brief Explanation - II 1:40 II

[Guest guest]

II 1:40 II

 

kula-ksaye pranasyanti, kula-dharmah sanatanah

dharme naste kulam krtsnam, adharmo 'bhibhavaty uta (Gita 1:40)

 

With the desctruction of a family, its age-long family traditions

disappear and with the absence of family traditions, impiety takes

hold of the entire family.

 

From Gita Prabodhani in Hindi pg. 15 by Swami Ramsukhdasji

--------------------------

 

Chapter 1, Verse 40 is as follows;

 

Kulakshaye = in the destruction of a family

PraNashyanti = perish

KuladharmaaH = family religious rites

SanaatanaaH = immemorial

Dharme = in spirituality

NaShte = being destroyed

Kulam = the family

Krutsnam = the whole / entire

AdharmaH = impiety

Abhibhavati = overcomes

Uta = indeed

 

English translation:-

 

In the destruction of a family the immemorial religious rites of the

family perish; having lost spirituality, impiety indeed overcomes

the entire family.

 

In the process of ruining of a family, the time tested laws are

destroyed. When such laws perish, the entire family yields to the

behaviour of lawlessness.

 

" Yuddhasya Kathaa RamyaaH, Na Tu YuddhaH " i.e. the war stories are

very interesting but not the war in itself nor the consequences of

the same.

 

Wars tend to tear us away from our natural habitat and uproot us

from the social customs and cultural traditions, which are in

essence the distillation of the well meditated thoughts and

experiences of a social group or a nation.

 

The survival or destruction of a social community depends upon the

values and traditions that it cherishes and executes in day to day

life.

 

The families that honour such noble social values and cultural

traditions are always known to prosper both materially as well as

spiritually. However, whenever there are departures from such noble

social values and cultural traditions, those social groups are

guaranteed to decay both materially as well as spiritually. Then,

anarchy is the only prospect.

 

Arjuna argues that `Adharma' i.e. impiety will prevail as a

consequence of the war. However, the fallacy of his argument is that

under the 13 years of the tyrannical rule of Duryodhana with the

tacit support of King Dhritarashtra, the community at large has

already sunk to the lowest level of ethics and morality. When

Draupadi was paraded in semi-naked state by Dushshaasana, there was

not a single person who came to her rescue. Only Vikarna, one of the

hundred sons of Dhritarashtra at least protested. Even the grandsire

Bheeshmaachaarya, who had taken a vow to protect the Kuru Kingdom,

came up with the novel justification in the form of " Arthasya

Purusho DaasaaH " i.e. all men are slaves of material possessions

including wealth. The only person to protect Draupadi's honour was

Lord Krishna, who provided her with Saree-cloth of infinite length

to such an extent that it became impossible for Dushshaasana to

expose her naked in front of all those slaves of the Kuru kingdom.

 

In any community, where women folk are ill-treated, it is indeed a

clear sign of its moral and spiritual decay.

 

With the help of Lord Krishna, the Pandavaas tried their best to

resurrect the community from its deplorable state by exploring all

the amicable means of practical solutions but of no avail. The only

alternative left for the Pandavaas was to completely destroy the

very evil forces that had brought such a downfall and miserable

state of the entire nation. Therefore, the royal battle was

inevitable to destroy the unrighteous families and restore the

honour and self-confidence of the righteous families.

 

What Arjuna thinks of his argument of sterling value and

unassailable logic, is eventually turned upside down by Lord Krishna

by culminating in his advice, " Tasmaad UttiShTha Kaunteya, Yuddhaaya

Kruta NishchayaH " i.e. therefore O Arjuna rise and resolve to fight

all those who are responsible for the downfall of the entire nation

called as `Bhaarat – Varsha'.

 

Thanks & Best Regards,

Shrikant Joshi.

-----------------------------

NOTE FROM OTHER SADHAKS

 

One small request to Joshiji who is doing a great service by these

descriptions. Can You kindly put the Sanskrit words of the sloka in

the order by which the sentence that follows becomes obvious instead

of the first come first basis that is followed below. This will

help us understand how to read the Sanskrit Slokas (where the order

of subject, object and verb etc. can be anywhere in the Sloka that

makes it difficult for those who are not familiar with grammer like

me). This will enhance our ability to appreciate the meaning of the

slokas over a period of time. Thanks

regards

Balarama Murty

----------------------------

 

Shree Hari

Ram Ram

Thank you Shri Shrikantji Joshi for taking the initiative to support

this divine work and to Mrs. K Asani for requesting shloka

explanation on a daily basis.

From Gita Talk Moderators

Ram Ram