Bhagavad Gita 1.41

Sanskrit

अधर्माभिभवात्कृष्ण प्रदुष्यन्ति कुलस्त्रियः । स्त्रीषु दुष्टासु वार्ष्णेय जायते वर्णसङ्करः ॥1.41॥

Transliteration

adharmābhibhavātkṛṣṇa praduṣyanti kulastriyaḥ | strīṣu duṣṭāsu vārṣṇeya jāyate varṇasaṅkaraḥ ‖1.41‖

Meaning

“When adharma prevails, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupted; and when women are corrupted, there arises a confusion of social order.”

Key learning

This verse comes from worries of its ancient time about family lines and keeping society in order, and its old assumptions don't fit our world. But underneath is a lasting fear worth hearing: when a society's moral order collapses, its most fragile bonds and most vulnerable people are usually hurt first.

How to apply this today

Leave behind the verse's old social assumptions, but take its deeper warning to heart: when morals break down, the most exposed people suffer soonest. When institutions lose their integrity, the powerless usually pay first and worst. When trust and shared standards erode in any group, the weakest relationships fall apart first. The lasting lesson is to watch the human cost when a community's ethics tear, and for the strong to protect the vulnerable rather than exploit them.

Theme: The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair

This verse is part of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1: Arjuna Vishada Yoga , read all verses in this chapter.

Read the full Bhagavad Gita

Teachmysoul gives you all 700 Gita verses with Sanskrit, plain-English meaning, a key learning and a practical application for daily life, a calm two-minute habit on web, iOS and Android.