Chapter 1, Verse 47
एवमुक्त्वार्जुनः सङ्ख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् | विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः ॥४७॥
evam uktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye rathopastha upāviśat | visṛjya saśaraṃ cāpaṃ śoka-saṃvigna-mānasaḥ ||47||
Meaning
Sanjaya said: Having thus spoken in the battlefield, Arjuna cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
This is the image that opens the Gita's teachings: Arjuna — one of the greatest warriors in history — sitting down, his bow cast aside, his mind shattered by grief. It is one of the most powerful depictions of psychological collapse in world literature.
Arjuna does not flee the battlefield. He sits down within it, unable to act. This is important: his crisis is not cowardice but genuine moral paralysis. He has reasoned himself into a corner where all choices seem to lead to harm.
This moment of total surrender — not to the enemy, but to his own confusion — is the opening that allows Krishna's teachings to enter. The Gita begins precisely where many of our most important spiritual journeys begin: in the moment when we have exhausted our own understanding and must either go deeper or give up entirely.
Arjuna's grief is our grief. His paralysis before difficult duty is our paralysis. Chapter 1 closes in breakdown; the rest of the Gita is the breakthrough.
💡 Key Takeaway
The deepest spiritual teachings often become available only when we reach the end of our own resources and are willing to receive wisdom beyond our current understanding.
Related Verses
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच | धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः | मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ॥१॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ | māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva kim akurvata sañjaya ||1||
Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjaya, after assembling in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukshetra, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do, being desirous to fight?
ततः श्वेतैर्हयैर्युक्ते महति स्यन्दने स्थितौ। माधवः पाण्डवश्चैव दिव्यौ शङ्खौ प्रदध्मतुः।।
tataḥ śvetair hayair yukte mahati syandane sthitau mādhavaḥ pāṇḍavaś caiva divyau śaṅkhau pradadhmatuḥ
Then, seated in their magnificent chariot yoked to white horses, Madhava (Krishna) and the son of Pandu (Arjuna) blew their divine conch-shells.
अथ व्यवस्थितान्दृष्ट्वा धार्तराष्ट्रान् कपिध्वजः। प्रवृत्ते शस्त्रसम्पाते धनुरुद्यम्य पाण्डवः।। हृषीकेशं तदा वाक्यमिदमाह महीपते।।
atha vyavasthitān dṛṣṭvā dhārtarāṣṭrān kapi-dhvajaḥ pravṛtte śastra-sampāte dhanur udyamya pāṇḍavaḥ hṛṣīkeśaṁ tadā vākyam idam āha mahī-pate
Then, O lord of the earth, Arjuna — whose flag bore the emblem of Hanuman — seeing the sons of Dhritarashtra arrayed in battle formation, raised his bow as the clash of weapons was about to begin, and spoke these words to Hrishikesha (Krishna).