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- The chain (dharma lost → protection withdrawn → vulnerable harmed → order further erodes) is still recognizable.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.
This verse is among the most discussed in the Gita — often cited by critics as evidence of patriarchal and caste-based assumptions in the text. A fair reading requires both honest acknowledgement of the historical framework and genuine attention to what Arjuna is actually arguing. In ancient Indian social thought, the continuity of family lineage was the precondition for the śrāddha (ancestor memorial) rites. A disrupted lineage meant ancestors received no offerings and were lost to the netherworld. Women's chastity was, in this framework, the mechanism by which lineage was maintained. Arjuna's argument is that war destroys the conditions in which this maintenance is possible. For the contemporary reader, the deeper point survives the cultural specifics: when the social order collapses, those with least power bear the greatest cost.
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!