Arjuna argued that impiety will predominate in the families because the death of the experienced persons in the battle field will leave none to control and guide them in good conduct and right behavior. This would lead to the womenfolk of these families going astray causing intermingling of castes.
The word `caste’ meant a division of society based on one’s mental tendencies and qualifications for taking up a particular type of work or avocation in the community. The division of society was never intended to be based on mere accident of birth. Therefore admixture of castes implies people choosing their avocations not suitable to their own inherent aptitude and tendencies resulting in the loss of professional ethics and excellence.
With the intermingling of castes, progeny would not perform `Sraaddha’ ceremonies to their deceased ancestors which would cause them a downfall in the other world. It was feared that the traditions of the individual families called Kula Dharma and those of a social group called Jati Dharma or Varna Dharma might get disturbed due to social upheaval as a consequence of war.
The import of Arjuna’s arguments was that when the fundamental harmony of the domestic life gets broken, when purity of living and sanctity of thought were destroyed, when the ideals enshrined in immemorial traditions were shattered, when the social equilibrium is disturbed, chaos alone will reign supreme in the world.
