Shloka 41
Karma-Yoga, Yajña-Cakra, and the Governance of Desire (कर्मयोग–यज्ञचक्र–कामनिग्रह)
अधर्माभिभवात् कृष्ण प्रदुष्यन्ति कुलस्त्रिय: । स्त्रीषु दुष्टासु वाष्णेय जायते वर्णसंकर:,हे कृष्ण! पापके अधिक बढ़ जानेसे कुलकी स्त्रियाँ अत्यन्त दूषित हो जाती हैं और हे वार्ष्णेय! स्त्रियोंके दूषित हो जानेपर वर्णसंकर उत्पन्न होता है
adharmābhibhavāt kṛṣṇa praduṣyanti kula-striyaḥ | strīṣu duṣṭāsu vārṣṇeya jāyate varṇa-saṅkaraḥ ||
O Krishna, when unrighteousness overwhelms a community, the women of the family become corrupted. And, O descendant of the Vrishni line, when women are corrupted, varṇa-saṅkara—social intermixture and confusion of hereditary duties—arises.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arjuna argues that when adharma becomes dominant, it corrodes the moral fabric of family life, leading to disorder in relationships and a broader collapse of social norms and inherited responsibilities (varṇa-saṅkara). The verse frames war not only as physical destruction but as a catalyst for ethical and societal disintegration.
On the battlefield, Arjuna is overwhelmed by the prospect of fighting his own kin. He presents Krishna with a chain-of-consequences argument: the slaughter of elders and protectors will allow adharma to prevail, which in turn will corrupt family life and produce social confusion, strengthening his reluctance to wage war.