What we were always told

utsannakuladharmāṇāṃ manuṣyāṇāṃ janārdananarake niyataṃ vāso bhavatītyanuśuśruma

We have heard, Janardana, that those who lose their family's dharma must live in naraka for a long time.

What it means

Arjuna backs up his fear with what he has heard. People who abandon family duties, the tradition says, end up in naraka, a long state of suffering. Notice his words, we have heard. He isn't speaking from his own understanding. He is reaching for the authority of what he was taught.

The story

This is the end of Arjuna's long argument. It began with trembling and grew into theology. Krishna will reply in the next chapter, not by repeating tradition, but by asking Arjuna to look at what's eternal and what's not.

In your life

Picture someone afraid to change careers because their father always said, stick with what's safe. Some inherited advice is wise. Some was just fear. Pick one belief you inherited and ask whether it's still yours.