Shloka 44

Karma-Yoga, Yajña-Cakra, and the Governance of Desire (कर्मयोग–यज्ञचक्र–कामनिग्रह)

Devanagari script

उत्सन्नकुलधर्माणां मनुष्याणां जनार्दन । नरके5नियतं वासो भवतीत्यनुशुश्रुम,हे जनार्दन! जिनका कुलधर्म नष्ट हो गया है, ऐसे मनुष्योंका अनिश्चित कालतक नरकमें वास होता है, ऐसा हम सुनते आये हैं

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca | utsanna-kula-dharmāṇāṁ manuṣyāṇāṁ janārdana | narake 'niyataṁ vāso bhavatīty anuśuśruma ||

Translation

Arjuna said: O Janārdana, we have heard that for people whose ancestral and family duties have been destroyed, there is a dwelling in hell for an indefinite length of time.

Word by Word

• उत्सन्नकुलधर्माणाम्: of those whose family-duties are destroyed
• उत्सन्नकुलधर्माणाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्सन्नकुलधर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• मनुष्याणाम्: of men
• मनुष्याणाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• जनार्दन: O Janardana
• जनार्दन: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनार्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• नरके: in hell
• नरके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• अनियतं: for an indefinite (time)
• अनियतं: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनियत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वासः: dwelling, residence
• वासः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भवति: is/comes to be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: Present, Third, Singular

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• अनुशुश्रुम: we have heard (traditionally)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु) + अनु (उपसर्ग)
• Form: Perfect, First, Plural

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Janārdana (Kṛṣṇa)
• naraka (hell)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Arjuna voices a traditional ethical warning: when family-based duties and moral customs collapse, society loses its stabilizing framework, and those responsible incur severe karmic consequences—symbolized here as an indefinite stay in hell.

What is happening in the narrative?

On the battlefield, Arjuna hesitates to fight. He argues to Kṛṣṇa (addressed as Janārdana) that war will destroy families and their inherited dharmas, and he cites what he has ‘heard’ from tradition: such destruction leads to prolonged suffering in hell.