1.40
कुलक्षये प्रणश्यन्ति कुलधर्माः सनातनाः ।
धर्मे नष्टे कुलं कृत्स्नमधर्मोऽभिभवत्युत ॥
kulakṣaye praṇaśyanti kuladharmāḥ sanātanāḥ
dharme naṣṭe kulaṃ kṛtsnam adharmo 'bhibhavaty uta
He starts the cascade. Family destroyed, then dharma, then the whole house.
The verse
When a family is destroyed, its ancient dharmas perish. When dharma perishes, lawlessness overcomes the whole family.
नेपालीमा
कुल नाश हुँदा त्यसका पुराना धर्महरू नाश हुन्छन्। धर्म नाश हुँदा अधर्मले सारा कुललाई जित्छ।
Where it sits
dharma (धर्म) was the first word of the book, inside dharmakṣetre (धर्मक्षेत्रे). Arjuna now uses it as a house-law that dies with the men who practice it. He is predicting a social collapse, not yet talking about the self. The cascade he builds through 1.44 — family, dharma, women, mixed birth, ancestors, hell — is one argument. Learn it as a chain, then notice, when chapter 2 begins, that Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) does not pick the chain apart link by link.
Split: कुल-क्षये + प्रणश्यन्ति + कुल-धर्माः + सनातनाः + धर्मे + नष्टे + कुलम् + कृत्स्नम् + अधर्मः + अभिभवति + उत
kula-kṣaye + praṇaśyanti + kula-dharmāḥ + sanātanāḥ + dharme + naṣṭe + kulam + kṛtsnam + adharmaḥ + abhibhavati + uta
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| कुल-क्षये | kula-kṣaye | locative | when the family is destroyed. In the destruction of the family. |
| प्रणश्यन्ति | praṇaśyanti | present, 3rd plural | they perish, they vanish. |
| कुल-धर्माः | kula-dharmāḥ | nominative plural | the dharmas of the family. The rites and duties that belong to a house. |
| सनातनाः | sanātanāḥ | nominative plural | ancient, perpetual. |
| धर्मे | dharme | locative | when dharma is… |
| नष्टे | naṣṭe | locative | destroyed. Agrees with dharme (धर्मे). |
| कुलम् | kulam | nominative | the family. |
| कृत्स्नम् | kṛtsnam | nominative, neuter | the whole. |
| अधर्मः | adharmaḥ | nominative | the absence of dharma, lawlessness. |
| अभिभवति | abhibhavati | present, 3rd singular | it overcomes. |
| उत | uta | indeclinable | and, indeed. It leans on the last claim. |
The phrases
kulakṣaye praṇaśyanti kuladharmāḥ sanātanāḥ (कुलक्षये प्रणश्यन्ति कुलधर्माः सनातनाः) is the first step. When a family is destroyed, its ancient dharmas perish. kulakṣaye (कुलक्षये) can be read as a plain locative, "in the destruction," and the force is "when."
dharme naṣṭe (धर्मे नष्टे) is a locative absolute. When dharma has been destroyed.
कुलं कृत्स्नम् अधर्मः अभिभवति kulaṃ kṛtsnam adharmaḥ abhibhavati is what follows. Lawlessness overcomes the whole family. अधर्मः + अ adharmaḥ + a becomes adharmo 'bhibhavati (अधर्मो ऽभिभवति).
uta (उत) at the end adds weight to the overcoming, a spoken "and that is not all," pointing forward to 1.41.
Sanskrit in this line
A locative absolute is a noun and a participle, both locative, meaning "when this has happened." dharme naṣṭe (धर्मे नष्टे), "dharma having been destroyed." You met one in 1.14, the chariot yoked, and one in 1.20, the weapons clashing. This one is conditional and grim. The shape is the same. The participle naṣṭe (नष्टे) is what makes dharme (धर्मे) a time, not only a location.
sanātana (सनातन) is "ancient" in the sense of "what has always been the duty," not "old-fashioned." kuladharmāḥ sanātanāḥ (कुलधर्माः सनातनाः) are the standing obligations of a house. He thinks they die if the house's men die.
Say it back
Two steps. What perishes when the family perishes, and what overcomes the family when that perishes. Say dharme naṣṭe (धर्मे नष्टे) as a when-clause.