Utsanna-Kuladharmanam

Arjuna arrives at the final consequence. O Janardana, he says, we have heard from our teachers that those whose family dharma is destroyed must dwell in hell for an indefinite time.

He reaches here for the authority of the guru-parampara — the lineage of teachers. Just as grandparents teach children that good actions bring good results, Arjuna's elders taught him that destroying the dharma of one's family carries the gravest consequences. He trusts what he was taught.

The word 'anushushruma' — we have heard — is significant. It shows Arjuna's respect for the tradition of learning by listening. This is shruti in practice: knowledge passed from teacher to student, ear to ear, across the ages. Arjuna holds this knowledge as truth.

This verse is the summit of Arjuna's arguments. He has traced the consequences of war from the battlefield to the home, from the home to the ancestors, and from the ancestors to hell itself. Having exhausted his reasoning, he will now turn to pure grief in the verses ahead.

The guru-shishya parampara — learning by hearing from one's teacher — is foundational to Indian culture. Arjuna invokes it here as his final authority.