Gita 01.41 – Unwanted Progeny – What Does Unwanted Mean

 

Audio Link 2: https://www.thespiritualscientist.com/gita-01-41-unwanted-progeny-what-does-unwanted-mean/

 

saṅkaro narakāyaiva

kula-ghnānāṁ kulasya ca

patanti pitaro hy eṣāṁ

lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ 

 

Word-for-word:

saṅkaraḥ — such unwanted children; narakāya — make for hellish life; eva — certainly; kula-ghnānām — for those who are killers of the family; kulasya — for the family; ca — also; patanti — fall down; pitaraḥ — forefathers; hi — certainly; eṣām — of them; lupta — stopped; piṇḍa — of offerings of food; udaka — and water; kriyāḥ — performances.

 

Translation:

An increase of unwanted population certainly causes hellish life both for the family and for those who destroy the family tradition. The ancestors of such corrupt families fall down, because the performances for offering them food and water are entirely stopped.

 

Explanation:

In this verse, Arjuna continues describing his reasons for desisting from the war. He has explained how the destruction of the dynasty will lead to the rise of adharma. Now, he goes on to say that the prevalence of adharma will cause problems for many generations, both past and future. How is that? Saṅkaro narakāyaiva—Naraka refers to hell, but the word “hell” is often used metaphorically to describe a place of great suffering. For example, those who were victimized in the Holocaust described the concentration camps as being like hell. Similarly, Arjuna says that when unwanted progeny spread and dominate the world, the world becomes like hell.

 

The quality of a kingdom is determined not just by the facilities available or by the leaders in place. While these factors are certainly important, the most crucial element is the nature of the people who reside there. If the people are degraded, the place itself will naturally be miserable. In certain areas where thieves abound and law and order are absent, visiting such a place feels hellish. Every step we take requires vigilance to ensure our belongings are safe, whether it’s guarding our pockets or even our lives from thieves. If such people predominate in a locality, it is already a dire situation. But what if such individuals dominated the entire world? This would result in “saṅkaro narakāyaiva”, and this would occur for both those who destroy the dynasty and the dynasty itself—kula-ghnānāṁ kulasya ca. Once the population becomes ungodly, cruel, and barbaric, the life of any dynasty in power will be made hellish.

 

Nowadays, people fail to understand that the caliber of individuals born depends on the level of consciousness of those who are uniting. John Lennon once said that much of Europe is born over a bottle of wine on Saturday night. In today’s hookup culture and even with one-night stands, people often unite casually, sometimes leading to pregnancy and the birth of children. These children are often unwanted progeny, as Srila Prabhupāda translates “varṇa-saṅkaraḥ”, meaning neither the mother nor the father want the child, and sometimes the child is even aborted. However, even if they are not aborted, “unwanted” doesn’t only refer to the parents’ lack of desire for the child—it essentially means that the child’s qualities are such that they are not the kind of person others would desire.

 

For example, when a teacher starts a class, the teacher wants good students. What teacher would want disruptive students who have no interest in studies and who will make life miserable for the teacher? Similarly, if proper saṁskāras are not performed, the souls attracted will be of a low grade. Although culture, education, and post-birth saṁskāras can help to some extent, beyond a certain point, only frustration remains, and not much can be done.

 

Of course, this is not meant for parents to abandon their children, thinking them to be “varṇa-saṅkaraḥ”. We should not judge people based on the conditions of their birth, but rather, when parents have a sense of responsibility, they strive to create favorable conditions for bringing good children into the world, including ensuring good conditions at birth. Arjuna is not suggesting that children should be abandoned; rather, he is emphasizing that precautions should be taken to avoid the birth of a low-caste population.

 

This is similar to when a hospital is flooded with patients due to an epidemic. It’s not that the hospital will refuse to treat the patients; in fact, the hospital will try to offer the best service possible. However, if the epidemic can be prevented, it is important to adopt measures—such as taking medicines, vaccines, and antibiotics—to avoid a medical catastrophe. If such precautions are not taken, the hospital will become overwhelmed—like hell, with too many patients, too few beds, and too few doctors. Therefore, this is not a rationalization of apathy towards those who are already suffering, but rather a warning to take precautions before a disastrous situation arises.

 

In the same way, whatever children we have, we should take care of them, but the point is that we should also try to avoid “varṇa-saṅkaraḥ”. This is the point Arjuna is making here. We will see that, after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira, along with Arjuna, took abundant measures to care for all the victims of the war, including the orphans and widows. They ensured that everyone was adequately taken care of.

 

Arjuna further says, “patanti pitaro hy eṣāṁ lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ”. We have various duties, one of which is our duty to the ancestors, which involves performing piṇḍa-dāna. This piṇḍa-dāna ensures that the ancestors receive sufficient pious credits to continue their stay in the higher planets. This concern is repeatedly expressed in the scriptures—if I don’t have a son to perform piṇḍa-dāna for me, what will happen to my future destination? The kings, too, worry about how they will continue if such duties are neglected.

 

Therefore, it is crucial to recognize our responsibilities and understand that we are embedded in an interdependent world, in a deeply interconnected society, where our actions will have consequences for many people. Arjuna points out the future consequences of fighting, which could lead to the destruction of the dynasty. He provides this as one of the reasons why he should not fight.

 

The general principle we can learn from this is that, knowing our actions will affect many, we must carefully consider these actions before making decisions on how to proceed.