Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 1, Verse 41
अधर्माभिभवात्कृष्ण प्रदुष्यन्ति कुलस्त्रियः।
स्त्रीषु दुष्टासु वार्ष्णेय जायते वर्णसङ्करः।।
स्त्रीषु दुष्टासु वार्ष्णेय जायते वर्णसङ्करः।।
adharmābhibhavāt kṛṣṇa praduṣyanti kula-striyaḥ
strīṣu duṣṭāsu vārṣṇeya jāyate varṇa-saṅkaraḥ
also searched as "adharmabhibhavat krishna pradushyanti kulastriyah"
Translation
When lawlessness prevails, O Krsna, the women of the clan become corrupted; when women become corrupted, there arises an intermixing of classes.
Vāṇi's rendering
When adharma rules, the family's women are corrupted; from that corruption comes the mixing of lineages.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अधर्माभिभवात्adharma-abhibhavāt | from the overpowering spread of adharma; because lawlessness has taken over (sandhi joins adharma and abhibhavāt) |
| कृष्णkṛṣṇa | O Krishna |
| प्रदुष्यन्तिpraduṣyanti | become corrupted, are spoiled |
| कुलस्त्रियःkula-striyaḥ | the women of the family |
| स्त्रीषुstrīṣu | among the women; when the women |
| दुष्टासुduṣṭāsu | being corrupted |
| वार्ष्णेयvārṣṇeya | O descendant of Vṛṣṇi — Krishna again, by his clan name |
| जायतेjāyate | is born, arises |
| वर्णसङ्करःvarṇa-saṅkaraḥ | the mixing of lineages and social orders |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Verse 41 mean?
Arjuna argues that when adharma takes hold, the family's women are corrupted, and from that corruption the lineages blur. It is the next link in a chain of dread he is forging himself. He speaks it to Krishna as proof that fighting is wrong — and Krishna will never take up the argument.
What does adharmabhibhavat krishna pradushyanti kulastriyah mean?
It means: because adharma overwhelms everything, O Krishna, the women of the family are corrupted. Arjuna is describing a collapse he has not yet seen. The Sanskrit is vivid — abhibhava is being overrun, overpowered, as a flood overruns a bank. His fear speaks in the language of certainty.
Is Krishna saying women are responsible for social collapse?
No. Arjuna is saying it, and Arjuna is in despair. This is the reasoning of a man in the first chapter, before a single word of teaching has been spoken. Krishna's reply, when it comes, begins somewhere else entirely — with who Arjuna actually is.
Why does Arjuna call Krishna by two different names here?
Kṛṣṇa, then Vārṣṇeya — clansman of Vṛṣṇi. He is invoking Krishna's own lineage while pleading about the ruin of lineages. It is the pressure of a man who wants agreement badly. Notice how often you use someone's name when you need them to say yes.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna names Krishna twice in a single line — Kṛṣṇa, then Vārṣṇeya — the way a man grabs a sleeve while he argues. He is building a case now, and the case runs downhill fast: war, then the collapse of order, then the women, then the bloodline. Notice that not one word of this will Krishna answer. When the reply finally comes it does not address lineage at all. Arjuna has reasoned his way to a conclusion he already wanted. You do that too — the mind assembling consequences until the thing you dread becomes the thing you must not do. Watch how fast your logic arrives where your fear was waiting.