उत्सन्नकुलधर्माणां मनुष्याणां जनार्दन। नरके नियतं वासो भवतीत्यनुशुश्रुम॥
utsanna-kula-dharmāṇāṃ manuṣyāṇāṃ janārdana / narake niyataṃ vāso bhavatīty anuśuśruma
Tradition says this is a path to hell — and we are about to walk it knowingly.
Word by word (4)
- utsanna-kula-dharmāṇām
- — for those whose family duties are destroyed
- manuṣyāṇām
- — for such people
- narake niyatam vāsaḥ
- — in hell the abode becomes fixed / permanent residence in hell
- bhavatīti anuśuśruma
- — so it is said / thus we have heard · 'Anuśuśruma' — 'we have heard from tradition.' Arjuna is citing received wisdom, not personal experience. He is invoking the authority of the tradition itself against the action the tradition's dharma would seem to require.
'And we have heard, O Janardana — we have been taught — that those whose family customs are destroyed are destined for hell. This is what the tradition says.'
A modern analogy
Citing tradition as an authority — 'this is what we've always known to be true' — to oppose an action that the tradition's own framework might demand. Arjuna uses the received wisdom against the very dharma that received wisdom taught him. This is the deepest confusion of his crisis.
Take with you
- 'Anuśuśruma' (we have heard) — Arjuna cites tradition. Traditions contain real wisdom; they also sometimes contradict each other under pressure.
- Arjuna is trapped between two sets of traditional obligations: the warrior's duty to fight and the family member's duty to protect.
- The very traditions that make the battle necessary (dharma, duty to justice) also seem to condemn its consequences. This is the heart of the dilemma.
Verse 43 reveals the depth of Arjuna's crisis: he is trapped between two sets of dharmic obligations that point in opposite directions. The warrior's dharma (kṣatriya-dharma) says: fight for justice. The family dharma (kula-dharma) says: preserve the family. In this specific situation, they are irreconcilable at the surface level. The phrase 'anuśuśruma' (we have heard) is philosophically important. Arjuna is not reasoning from first principles — he is citing received wisdom. This means his moral framework is ultimately external, inherited. The Gita's teaching will invite him to move from inherited wisdom (which has trapped him) to wisdom grounded in direct understanding.
Advaita lens
For Shankaracharya, the 'hell' (naraka) mentioned here is real but ultimately provisional — a state of suffering that is resolved through eventual liberation. The deeper teaching is that action grounded in the Atman does not create the karmic bondage that leads to hell. Arjuna's fear of hell is based on a framework he has not yet transcended.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
We have heard, O Janardana, that dwelling in hell is inevitable for those men in whose families the religious rites have been destroyed. [4]
O Janardana, we have heard that those men must inevitably dwell in hell whose family customs are abolished. [6]
We have heard that the men of those families whose family customs are destroyed must necessarily dwell in hell. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
The sound of righteous forces pierces the hearts of those who know they are on the wrong side.
I am the strength of the strong, free from craving — and the desire in beings that does not conflict with dharma.
Brāhmaṇa dharma: śama, dama, tapas, purity, forbearance, uprightness, knowledge, wisdom, faith — born of svabhāva.
Kṣatriya dharma: bravery, vigor, fortitude, skill, not-fleeing-battle, generosity, lordly bearing — born of svabhāva.