Bhagavad Gita 1.40: meaning and translation
Chapter 1: Arjuna Vishada Yoga. Arjuna says
Arjuna explains his worry: when a family is destroyed, he says, its age-old family dharma (its traditions and rites) is lost, and when dharma is lost, adharma (the absence of dharma) takes over the whole family.
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Bhagavad Gita 1.40
कुलक्षये प्रणश्यन्ति कुलधर्माः सनातनाः ।धर्मे नष्टे कुलं कृत्स्नमधर्मोऽभिभवत्युत ॥
Kulakshaye pranashyanti kuladharmah sanatanahDharme nashte kulam kritsnamadharmobhibhavatyuta
kulakṣaye praṇaśyanti kuladharmāḥ sanātanāḥ |dharme naṣṭe kulaṃ kṛtsnamadharmo’bhibhavatyuta ||
Our explanation Arjuna explains his worry: when a family is destroyed, he says, its age-old family dharma (its traditions and rites) is lost, and when dharma is lost, adharma (the absence of dharma) takes over the whole family.
हिंदी अर्थ अर्जुन अपनी चिंता समझाते हैं। उनके अनुसार कुल का नाश होने पर उसके सनातन कुलधर्म (परंपराएँ और संस्कार) नष्ट हो जाते हैं, और धर्म के नष्ट होने पर पूरे कुल पर अधर्म छा जाता है।
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- कुलक्षये kulakṣaye · when a family is destroyed (compound (masculine), locative singular) Dictionary: kula-kṣaya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 294, col. 3 “decay of a race or family”
- प्रणश्यन्ति praṇaśyanti · perish (present, 3rd person plural) Dictionary: pra-ṇaś, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 659, col. 3
- कुलधर्माः kuladharmāḥ · family dharmas (compound (masculine), nominative plural) Dictionary: kula-dharma, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 294, col. 3 “practice or observance peculiar to a tribe or family”
- सनातनाः sanātanāḥ · age-old (adjective (masculine), nominative plural) Dictionary: sanātana, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1141, col. 1 “eternal, perpetual, permanent, everlasting, primeval, ancient”
- धर्मे dharme · dharma (noun (masculine), locative singular) Dictionary: 1. dharma, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 510, col. 3 “usage, practice, customary observance or prescribed conduct, duty”
- नष्टे naṣṭe · being lost (past participle (masculine), locative singular) Dictionary: naṣṭa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 532, col. 1 “lost, disappeared, perished, destroyed”
- कुलम् kulam · family (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: kula, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 294, col. 2 “a race, family, community”
- कृत्स्नम् kṛtsnam · whole (adjective (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: kṛtsna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 304, col. 3 “all, whole, entire”
- अधर्मः adharmaḥ · adharma (absence of dharma) (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: a-dharma, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 20, col. 1 “unrighteousness, injustice, irreligion, wickedness”
- अभिभवति abhibhavati · overcomes (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. abhi-bhū, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 66, col. 3 “to overcome, overpower, predominate, conquer, surpass, overspread”
- उत uta · also (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. uta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 175, col. 2 “and, also, even, or”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 41.
On the extinction of a family, the eternal rites of families are destroyed1. Those rites being destroyed, impiety predominates over the whole family2.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 41.
On the extinction of a family, the eternal rites of families are destroyed1. Those rites being destroyed, impiety predominates over the whole family2.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 21.
In the destruction of a family the immemorial family Dharmas1 perish; in the perishing of Dharma, lawlessness overcomes the whole family;
This sentence goes on in 1.41.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Dharma is a wide word, primarily meaning the essential nature of a thing; hence, the laws of its being, its duty; and it includes religious rites, appropriate to those laws, ↩
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 19.
On the decay of a family the immemorial religious rites of that family die out. On the destruction of spirituality, impiety further overwhelms the whole of the family.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 41. Bhagavad Gita 1.40.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 21. Bhagavad Gita 1.40.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 19. Bhagavad Gita 1.40.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 1.40: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/1/40/
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Bhagavad Gita 1.40
कुलक्षये प्रणश्यन्ति कुलधर्माः सनातनाः ।
धर्मे नष्टे कुलं कृत्स्नमधर्मोऽभिभवत्युत ॥
“On the extinction of a family, the eternal rites of families are destroyed. Those rites being destroyed, impiety predominates over the whole family.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 41, public domain)
“In the destruction of a family the immemorial family Dharmas perish; in the perishing of Dharma, lawlessness overcomes the whole family;”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 21, public domain)
This sentence goes on in 1.41.
“On the decay of a family the immemorial religious rites of that family die out. On the destruction of spirituality, impiety further overwhelms the whole of the family.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 19, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/1/40/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 1.40?
Arjuna speaks this verse, in chapter 1 (Arjuna Vishada Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026