The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair

Arjuna sees what others miss: when you destroy families in war, 'kula-dharmāḥ sanātanāḥ praṇaśyanti'—eternal family traditions perish. Not just people, but accumulated wisdom, ways of being that took generations to build. 'Sanātanāḥ'—ancient, what's been passed down through lineages. 'Dharme naṣṭe kulaṁ kṛtsnam adharmo 'bhibhavaty uta'—when dharma is destroyed, unrighteousness overcomes the entire (kṛtsnam) family. It doesn't stay contained—it spreads, fills every void. You think you're removing a problem, but you're destroying a system whose loss creates conditions worse than what you removed.