Arjuna said: O Krishna, seeing this assembly of kinsmen arrayed for battle, my limbs are weakening, my mouth is drying up, my body is trembling, and my hair is standing on end. The Gandiva bow is slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning. My mind is reeling, and I am unable to even stand steady.
Commentary: The address 'Krishna' was very dear to Arjuna. This form of address appears nine times in the Gita. No other form of address for Lord Shri Krishna appears this many times. Similarly, the name 'Partha' was very dear to the Lord for Arjuna. Therefore, the Lord and Arjuna used these names for each other in their conversations, and this fact was also well-known among people. From this perspective, Sanjaya mentions the names 'Krishna' and 'Partha' at the end of the Gita: "Where there is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, and where there is Partha, the wielder of the bow" (18.78).
Dhritarashtra had earlier said 'samavetā yuyutsavaḥ' (assembled, desirous to fight), and here Arjuna also says 'yuyutsuṁ samupasthitam' (desirous to fight, arrayed); however, there is a great difference in their perspectives. In Dhritarashtra's view, Duryodhana and others are *my* sons, and Yudhishthira and others are Pandu's sons—such is the distinction; therefore, Dhritarashtra used the terms 'māmakāḥ' (my sons) and 'pāṇḍavāḥ' (the sons of Pandu) there. But in Arjuna's view, there is no such distinction; therefore, Arjuna says 'svajanam' (kinsmen) here, which includes people from both sides. The implication is that Dhritarashtra has fear and sorrow from the apprehension of his own sons dying in the war; but Arjuna is sorrowful from the apprehension of kinsmen from both sides dying—that whichever side anyone dies from, they are still our kinsmen.
Until now, the word 'dṛṣṭvā' (having seen) has appeared three times: 'dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkam' (1.2), 'vyavasthitān dṛṣṭvā dhārtarāṣṭrān' (1.20), and here 'dṛṣṭvemaṁ svajanam' (1.28). The meaning of these three is that Duryodhana's seeing remained of one kind only, i.e., Duryodhana's sentiment was solely that of war; but Arjuna's seeing became of two kinds. First, seeing the sons of Dhritarashtra, Arjuna, filled with valor, stands up lifting his bow for battle; and now, seeing his kinsmen, he is becoming possessed by cowardice, desisting from war, and the bow is falling from his hand.
'My limbs are giving way... my mind is reeling' — In Arjuna's mind, there is anxiety and sorrow concerning the future consequences of the war. The effect of that anxiety and sorrow is falling upon Arjuna's entire body. That very effect Arjuna is describing in clear words: each limb of my body—hand, foot, mouth, etc.—is weakening! The mouth is drying up, making it difficult even to speak! The entire body is trembling! All the hair on the body is standing on end, meaning the entire body is horripilating! That very Gandiva bow, the twang of whose string frightens the enemies, is today falling from my hand! The skin—the entire body—is burning. My mind is becoming bewildered, meaning I cannot even discern what I ought to do! Here, in this battlefield, I am becoming incapable of even standing on the chariot! It seems I will faint and fall! In such a calamitous war, even standing here appears to be a sin.
Connection: Having described the eight signs of sorrow manifest in his body in the previous verse, Arjuna now, from the perspective of omens portending future consequences, states the impropriety of waging war.
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