अर्जुन उवाच |
दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम् || 28||
सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिशुष्यति |
वेपथुश्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्च जायते || 29||
गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात्त्वक्चै व परिदह्यते |
न च शक्नोम्यवस्थातुं भ्रमतीव च मे मन: || 30||
arjuna uvācha
dṛiṣhṭvemaṁ sva-janaṁ kṛiṣhṇa yuyutsuṁ samupasthitam
sīdanti mama gātrāṇi mukhaṁ cha pariśhuṣhyati
vepathuśh cha śharīre me roma-harṣhaśh cha jāyate
gāṇḍīvaṁ sraṁsate hastāt tvak chaiva paridahyate
na cha śhaknomy avasthātuṁ bhramatīva cha me manaḥ
arjunaḥ uvācha—Arjun said; dṛiṣhṭvā—on seeing; imam—these; sva-janam—kinsmen; kṛiṣhṇa—Krishna; yuyutsum—eager to fight; samupasthitam—present; sīdanti—quivering; mama—my; gātrāṇi—limbs; mukham—mouth; cha—and; pariśhuṣhyati—is drying up; vepathuḥ—shuddering; cha—and; śharīre—on the body; me—my; roma-harṣhaḥ—standing of bodily hair on end; cha—also; jāyate—is happening; gāṇḍīvam—Arjun’s bow; sraṁsate—is slipping; hastāt—from (my) hand; tvak—skin; cha—and; eva—indeed; paridahyate—is burning all over; na—not; cha—and; śhaknomi—am able; avasthātum—remain steady; bhramati iva—whirling like; cha—and; me—my; manaḥ—mind;
Translation:
Arjuna said: O Krishna, at the sight of these my kinsmen, assembled here eager to give battle, my limbs fail and my mouth is parched. My body is shaken and my hair stands on end. The bow Gāndiva slips from my hand and my skin is on fire. I cannot hold myself steady; my mind seems to whirl. O Keśava, I see omens of evil.
Commentary:
In these verses, Arjuna describes the bodily and mental changes which overwhelmed him on that occasion. Those are all signs of sorrow, weakness and despair. How does it happen that Arjuna who fought many battles and who won miraculous victories single-handed, should lose his courage and strength in this particular situation? His material and physical powers are just the same as before. But mentally he suffered a tremendous shock. Why? by the thought born of = Avidya these are my men, how can I kill them? The egotistic feeling of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ engulfed his mind. So he cries ‘svajanam‘ ‘svajanam‘ (our people) repeatedly.
This is ignorance, and Jnana, knowledge, is the only remedy for it. Lord Krishna offers this Atma-Jnana to Arjuna and enables him to see things clearly, to free himself from thoughts of weakness, and to carry out his Dharma.