Bhakti ArohanBhakti Arohan

Bhagavad Gita — Chapter 1, Verse 42

सङ्करो नरकायैव कुलघ्नानां कुलस्य च । पतन्ति पितरो ह्येषां लुप्तपिण्डोदकक्रियाः ॥ ४२ ॥

saṅkaro narakāyaiva kula-ghnānāṁ kulasya cha patanti pitaro hy eṣhāṁ lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ

Translation

Such confusion leads the family and those who destroyed it to hell; for their ancestors fall too, deprived of the offerings of rice-balls and water.

Hindi Meaning (हिंदी अर्थ)

यह वर्णसंकर कुल-घातियों को और कुल को नरक में ही ले जाता है; क्योंकि पिण्ड और जल की क्रियाओं से वंचित होकर उनके पितर भी गिर जाते हैं।

Commentary

Arjun invokes shraddha, the ritual offerings of pinda (rice-balls) and water to the ancestors. In the belief of the time, these offerings sustained the departed; a broken family line meant no one would perform them. Arjun's fear stretches from the living to the dead.