Bhagavad Gita · Arjuna Vishada YogaChapter 1, Shloka 41 (1.41)

What Arjuna is saying — literally. Arjuna's chain is this: with the destruction of the family's men, the practice of dharma stops → adharma spreads → the women of the family become (in his words) "corrupted" → varna-sankara arises. In this argument women are seen as the guardians of the family's "purity" and as the first "victims" of adharma.

What the commentators say. Shridhara Svami calls the "praduṣyanti" of this shloka a statement of kāyika doṣa (a bodily fault) (after the mānasa doṣa of 1.40). Madhusudana Sarasvati gives two interpretations: (1) the women may be misled by a false argument — "when our husbands violated dharma and destroyed the family, what fault is there if we too do something?"; or (2) the women being regarded as "corrupted" simply because of their association with "fallen" husbands who destroyed the family (on the basis of smriti). Both interpretations sit within the dharmashastra and social framework of their time.

Necessary context for today's reader — honestly:

1. These are Arjuna's words, not Krishna's. These are the arguments that Krishna, at the start of the second chapter, describes as coming from a state of kaśmala (delusion, 2.2) and hṛdaya-daurbalya (2.3). The Gita presents these arguments as Arjuna's condition, not as its own teaching.
2. The assumption about women. This argument treats women's morality as dependent on men's practice of dharma and as carrying the burden of the family's "purity". This is an ancient patriarchal assumption. Many modern readers and scholars view it critically, and the stance of this book too is that this sentence cannot be made the basis of any rule for today or of any conclusion against women.
3. Varna-sankara and caste. In history this term has also been used to justify caste-based discrimination. This book does not support any such interpretation. Later the Gita itself will explain varna on the basis of guna and karma (4.13, 18.41) — it will be discussed in detail in those chapters, where the differing views of the traditions will also be given.
4. A broader human truth. Despite all this, behind Arjuna's worry lies a real human pain: the insecurity of widows, orphans and broken families after a war, and the collapse of the social fabric. This pain is the truth of every war.

"Vārṣṇeya" — the address. Krishna of the Vrishni line. Arjuna repeatedly calls Krishna by the name of his clan — perhaps because the subject is the family. (This is our interpretation.)