Bhagavad Gita 1.40
Spoken by Arjuna · Verse 40 of 47 · Arjuna's Journey
अधर्माभिभवात्कृष्ण प्रदुष्यन्ति कुलस्त्रियः। स्त्रीषु दुष्टासु वार्ष्णेय जायते वर्णसंकरः॥
adharmābhibhavāt kṛṣṇa praduṣyanti kula-striyaḥ / strīṣu duṣṭāsu vārṣṇeya jāyate varṇa-saṃkaraḥ
When order collapses, the most vulnerable members of society suffer first.
Word by word (5)
- adharma-abhibhavāt
- — from the overwhelming of dharma by adharma
- praduṣyanti kula-striyaḥ
- — the women of the family become corrupt / are corrupted
- strīṣu duṣṭāsu
- — when women are corrupted
- vārṣṇeya
- — O Varshneya — Krishna (of the Vrishni clan)
- jāyate varṇa-saṃkaraḥ
- — arises varna-sankara — mixing of social orders / caste intermixture · 'Varṇa-saṃkara' literally means mixing of varnas (social divisions). In the ancient framework this was considered a source of social disorder. Contemporary readers should understand this as Arjuna's concern about social order collapsing, not as an endorsement of caste hierarchy per se.
'When adharma (lawlessness) takes over, O Krishna, the women of the family are corrupted. And when women are corrupted, O Varshneya, the social order collapses entirely.'
A modern analogy
In modern conflict studies, it is well-documented that women and children bear a disproportionate share of the cost of war and social collapse. Arjuna's argument, in its ancient framing, points to a truth that remains confirmed today: when order collapses, the most vulnerable are harmed first.
Take with you
- Social collapse has predictable victims — the most vulnerable members of any community.
- The chain (dharma lost → protection withdrawn → vulnerable harmed → order further erodes) is still recognizable.
- Read in context: Arjuna is making a consequentialist argument about social order, not a judgement about women.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
By the prevalence of impiety, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt; and when women are corrupted, O Varshneya, there arises an intermixture of castes. [4]
For then the women of the house grow vile, And, women being corrupt, all is corrupt: Till Hell is born from such confusion. [7]
When impiety prevails, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt; and when the women are corrupted, O descendant of Vrishni, intermixture of castes ensues. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The dead depend on the living — break the chain of care and the ancestors fall.
When families collapse, the traditions that hold communities together collapse with them.
A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield — and the Gita begins.
Arjuna sees his own people ready to die — and his body breaks before his mind can argue.
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
I am Time, the world-destroyer — even without you, none of these warriors shall survive; they are already slain!
Verse 40 of 47 · back to Chapter 1