1.42 — Remembering duties to ancestors

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Dharma In You · Updated 8 October 2026

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 fears now include the family’s ancestors and the interruption of offerings made for them.

सङ्करो नरकायैव कुलघ्नानां कुलस्य च।
पतन्ति पितरो ह्येषां लुप्तपिण्डोदकक्रियाः॥४२॥

Brief meaning, in our own words. Arjuna says that the disorder he fears would bring hell upon the family and those who destroy it. He says their ancestors would also fall when offerings of food and water cease.

This verse presents Arjuna’s concern about duties linking the living and their ancestors. We report that belief as part of his argument, without inventing a ritual scene or presenting his feared outcome as something the narrator has witnessed.

Here is our everyday reflection. Remember someone whose care helped your family or community. Choose one act of gratitude that carries something good forward.