Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Verse 40
भगवद् गीता अध्याय 1 श्लोक 40

कुलक्षये प्रणश्यन्ति कुलधर्माः सनातनाः।
धर्मे नष्टे कुलं कृत्स्नमधर्मोऽभिभवत्युत।।1.40।।



English Translation - Dr. S. Sankaranarayan
1.40. When  a family ruins,  the etnernal duties of the family perish;  when the duties perish,  impiety inevitably dominates the entire family.


English Translation of Commentary  - Dr. S. Sankaranarayan
1.35  1.44  Nihatya etc. upto anususruma. Sin alone is the agent in the act of slaying these desperadoes. Therefore here the idea is this : These ememies of ours have been slain, i.e., have been take possession of, by sin. Sin would come to us also after slaying them. Sin in this context is the disregard, on account of greed etc., to the injurious conseences like the ruination of the family and the like. That is why Arjuna makes a specific mention of the [ruin of the] family etc., and of its duties in the passage How by slaying my own kinsmen etc.

The act of slaying, undertaken with an individualizing idea about its result, and with a particularizing idea about the person to be slain, is a great sin. To say this very thing precisely and to indicate the intensity of his own agony, Arjuna says only to himself [see next sloka]:


Transliteration Bhagavad Gita 1.40Kulakshaye pranashyanti kuladharmaah sanaatanaah;
Dharme nashte kulam kritsnam adharmo’bhibhavatyuta.


Word Meanings Bhagavad Gita 1.40kula-kṣhaye—in the destruction of a dynasty; praṇaśhyanti—are vanquished; kula-dharmāḥ—family traditions; sanātanāḥ—eternal; dharme—religion; naṣhṭe—is destroyed; kulam—family; kṛitsnam—the whole; adharmaḥ—irreligion; abhibhavati—overcome; uta—indeed