Chapter1 Verse 42

 

Verse 42

सङ्करो नरकायैव कुलघ्नानां कुलस्य च |

पतन्ति पितरो ह्येषां लुप्तपिण्डोदकक्रिया: || 42||

Transliteration:

Sankaro narakAyaiva kulaghnAnAM kulasya ca .

Patanti pitaro hiyeSha luptapindodakakriyAH..42..

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Word-by-word meaning:

सङ्करो – contamination; नरकायैव – only for trouble; कुलघ्नानां – for those who destroy the race;कुलस्य – (of)the family;च – and; पतन्ति- fall; पितरो – ancestors; ह्येषां – indeed their; पिण्ड-उदक-क्रियाः – sacrificial offerings;

Meaning:

The contamination of the tribe results in trouble for the family and for those who destroy the race too. Due to the absence of the sacrificial offerings even their ancestors fall from grace.

Significance:

The varnas are four based on the four levels of human activity: pursuit of knowledge, pursuit of selfless action, pursuit of selfish action and pursuit of ignorance.The contamination of these varnas / tribe pushes the people in the society to hell. Heaven and hell are nothing but the manifestation of our mind. When there is no happiness around us the place we live and our life is the hell in which we dwell in. Talking of ancestors, Arjuna here remembers the ancestors who built the Kuru Dynasty. Remembering ancestors and sacrificial offerings to them are considered very important in Hindu Tradition. Ancestors/pitris plane is said to be on the other side of the moon. Indian astronomical texts too talk of the plane of the pitris.