Chapter I · Śloka 41
Arjuna uvāca
सङ्करो नरकायैव कुलघ्नानां कुलस्य च |
पतन्ति पितरो ह्येषां लुप्तपिण्डोदकक्रियाः ||
पतन्ति पितरो ह्येषां लुप्तपिण्डोदकक्रियाः ||
saṅkaro narakāyaiva kula-ghnānāṃ kulasya ca |
patanti pitaro hy eṣāṃ lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ ||
patanti pitaro hy eṣāṃ lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ ||
Unwanted offspring lead to hellish life both for the destroyers of the family and for the family itself. The ancestors of such corrupt families fall down, deprived of offerings of rice and water.
The argument now reaches into the afterlife: without descendants to perform śrāddha rites, the pitṛs — the ancestral souls — fall from their heavenly abodes. Arjuna invokes cosmic consequences to strengthen his case for inaction on the battlefield.