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“Breaking family order is imagined as ruin that reaches even the dead.”
Mixed lineage leads the destroyers of family to ruin, and their ancestors fall because offerings of food and water stop.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallymixed lineage · for ruin · indeed · of family-destroyers · of the family · and · fall · ancestors · indeed · of these · stopped · food offering · water offering · rites
Arjuna says that destroying family order creates ruin for the family and even harms the ancestors, because the rites that support them stop.
Arjuna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Arjuna Vishada Yoga" (The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair).
Verse 42 sits in Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita — Arjuna Vishada Yoga, "The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair". The chapter has 47 verses in total.
You are about to cut off a relationship, and the mind races ahead to every harm it might cause. In that panic, one decision starts to feel like it will damage an entire family line.
Did you like this verse?
It shows how moral panic turns consequences into a chain of fear, making action feel spiritually catastrophic.
What this verse means
Arjuna says that destroying family order creates ruin for the family and even harms the ancestors, because the rites that support them stop.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, Arjuna is still listing the consequences of civil war. He argues that when family lines are broken, traditional rites stop, social order collapses, and even the dead are thought to suffer. The verse deepens his refusal to fight.
Why this verse still matters
You are about to cut off a relationship, and the mind races ahead to every harm it might cause. In that panic, one decision starts to feel like it will damage an entire family line.
“Fear of collapse can make a person see one violent choice as a disaster for generations.”
Explore related themes: arjuna vishada (14 verses)