1.40 — What a family carries forward
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Speaker: Arjuna, addressing Krishna
Teaching film · Sanskrit · Everyday reflection
Our original brief meaning and reflection accompany the Sanskrit below.
Context, Sanskrit and lesson transcript
Arjuna’s concern reaches beyond the immediate battlefield to what families pass from one generation to another.
कुलक्षये प्रणश्यन्ति कुलधर्माः सनातनाः।
धर्मे नष्टे कुलं कृत्स्नमधर्मोऽभिभवत्युत॥४०॥
Brief meaning, in our own words. Arjuna says that when a family is destroyed, its longstanding duties and traditions perish. With those duties lost, wrongdoing overwhelms the family.
He fears consequences extending beyond the people who fight. Family duties and traditions are central to his argument here; this verse does not settle every question about which inherited practices should be preserved.
Here is our everyday reflection. Think of one practice of care, honesty or service that deserves to continue. How can you pass it on through your own conduct?
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