Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 1, Verse 43
दोषैरेतैः कुलघ्नानां वर्णसङ्करकारकैः।
उत्साद्यन्ते जातिधर्माः कुलधर्माश्च शाश्वताः।।
उत्साद्यन्ते जातिधर्माः कुलधर्माश्च शाश्वताः।।
doṣair etaiḥ kula-ghnānāṁ varṇa-saṅkara-kārakaiḥ
utsādyante jāti-dharmāḥ kula-dharmāś ca śāśvatāḥ
also searched as "doshair etaih kula-ghnanam varna-sankara-karakaih"
Translation
By the sins of the clan-destroyers who bring about intermixing of classes, the ancient traditions of the clans and classes are destroyed.
Vāṇi's rendering
By these sins of the family's destroyers, the timeless duties of community and family are uprooted.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| दोषैःdoṣaiḥ | by the wrongs, by the faults (sandhi: doṣair before etaiḥ) |
| एतैःetaiḥ | by these |
| कुलघ्नानाम्kula-ghnānām | of the destroyers of the family |
| वर्णसङ्करकारकैःvarṇa-saṅkara-kārakaiḥ | by those that cause the mixing and blurring of the social orders |
| उत्साद्यन्तेutsādyante | are uprooted, are wiped out |
| जातिधर्माःjāti-dharmāḥ | the duties belonging to a community |
| कुलधर्माःkula-dharmāḥ | the duties belonging to a family (sandhi: kula-dharmāś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| शाश्वताःśāśvatāḥ | timeless, standing from of old |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Verse 43 mean?
Arjuna says that the wrongs done by those who destroy a family blur the social orders, and in that blurring the old duties of family and community are uprooted. He is forecasting the collapse of an entire way of life from a war not yet begun. It is the final link in a chain of dread.
What does doshair etaih kula-ghnanam mean in the Gita?
It means "by these wrongs of the family's destroyers." Arjuna has already named himself among those destroyers. The whole verse is spoken about people he intends to become. That is why it carries such heat — he is not warning others, he is prosecuting himself in advance.
Is Arjuna right about the consequences he describes?
He may well be. Krishna never disputes the forecast in this chapter; he disputes the man making it. An accurate prediction spoken from terror is still terror speaking. The question is not whether the ruins are real, but who is standing among them before anything has fallen.
How do I use this verse when anxiety keeps predicting disaster?
Let the prediction finish, then ask what it costs you to hold it. Arjuna's mind runs from one battle to the end of civilisation in four verses, each step reasonable, the whole thing paralysing. Reason moving that fast is rarely reasoning. It is fear wearing a good argument.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Arjuna is no longer describing a battle. He is describing centuries — families gone, customs uprooted, an order that took generations to build undone in an afternoon. Notice how far ahead he has run. The arrow has not left the bow and he is already standing in the ruins. Grief does this; it recruits reason and sends it forward to scout, and reason comes back with proof. Everything he says here may even be true. It is still not why he is trembling. When your own argument grows this large and this certain, look underneath it for the fear that hired it.