1.44. We have heard, O Janardana, that inevitable is the dwelling for an unknown period in hell for those men in whose families the religious practices have been destroyed.

1.35 1.44 Nihatya etc. upto anususruma. Sin alone is the agent in the act of slaying these desperadoes. Therefore here the idea is this : These ememies of ours have been slain, i.e., have been take possession of, by sin. Sin would come to us also after slaying them. Sin in this context is the disregard, on account of greed etc., to the injurious conseences like the ruination of the family and the like. That is why Arjuna makes a specific mention of the [ruin of the] family etc., and of its duties in the passage 'How by slaying my own kinsmen etc'. The act of slaying, undertaken with an individualizing idea about its result, and with a particularizing idea about the person to be slain, is a great sin. To say this very thing precisely and to indicate the intensity of his own agony, Arjuna says only to himself [see next sloka]:

**1.44.** O Janārdana! We have heard from tradition that those men whose family duties are destroyed, dwell for a long time in hell. **Commentary:** 'For those whose family duties are destroyed... we have heard' – The Lord has endowed man with discrimination and the authority to perform new actions. Therefore, he is free to act or not act, to perform good or inferior actions. Hence, he should always perform his duty with careful discrimination and deliberation. However, enticed by the lure of sensual pleasures and the like, man disregards his discrimination and becomes enslaved by attachment and aversion. Consequently, his conduct begins to oppose scriptural injunctions and family traditions. As a result, in this world he faces censure, disrespect, and scorn, and in the next world, he meets with a wretched state and attains hell. Due to his own sins, he has to suffer the torment of hells for a very long time. Thus have we heard from the great elders and teachers in our tradition. The term 'men' encompasses both the destroyers of the family and all the men of their family. That is, it includes those who have gone before (the ancestors), themselves, and those who are yet to come (the lineage). **Connection:** What effect did this description of the chain of calamities resulting from the war have on Arjuna himself? This is explained in the following verse.