Who will keep this clan relationship tight and strong? Who will keep this tradition?”

Arjuna Vishada Yoga 

Chapter 1, Verse 43

 

doṣair etaiḥ kula-ghnānāṁ 

varṇa-saṅkara-kārakaiḥ 

utsādyante jāti-dharmāḥ 

kula-dharmāśca śāśvatāḥ

 

By these misdeeds of the destroyers of the family, leading to the confusion  

of the castes, the eternal laws of the clan and moral law of the family will  

be destroyed.

In that moment, Arjuna is just seeing his own fear. Out of fear, out of sadness, out of guilt, he doesn’t want to take this responsibility upon himself. He has already created a certain drama inside of himself: that the Varna Dharma, which is taught in the Vedas will not be respected; the eternal law of the clan and the moral law of the family will not be respected; the duties of the castes and the elders will not be respected. The elders of the family were the ones who were strict about maintaining family customs and they were respected. 

Arjuna says, “Bhishma is here in front of us. He is Dharmaraj. He is the one who has kept the clan strong. If he is dead, who will keep this clan relationship tight and strong? Who will keep this tradition?”

Bhagavad Gita