Bhagavad Gita 1.28
Spoken by Arjuna ☆ Key verse · Verse 28 of 47 · Arjuna's Journey
दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम्। सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिशुष्यति॥
dṛṣṭvemaṃ svajanāṃ kṛṣṇa yuyutsaṃ samupasthitam / sīdanti mama gātrāṇi mukhaṃ ca pariśuṣyati
Arjuna sees his own people ready to die — and his body breaks before his mind can argue.
Word by word (6)
- dṛṣṭvā imam
- — having seen these · The seeing is complete — Arjuna has looked. The crisis follows from the seeing, not from the battle itself.
- svajanam
- — my own people / my kinsmen · 'Svajana' — literally 'own-people.' The possessive is everything here: these are not strangers. Arjuna's grief begins the moment he recognizes them as his.
- kṛṣṇa
- — O Krishna (address)
- yuyutsum samupasthitam
- — arrayed eager to fight / standing ready for battle
- sīdanti mama gātrāṇi
- — my limbs fail / my members sink · 'Sīdanti' — from sad (to sink, to fall). The same root as vishāda (grief/despondency), which gives this chapter its name: Arjuna Vishāda Yoga. His limbs and the chapter-name share a root.
- mukham ca pariśuṣyati
- — my mouth is parching / my mouth dries up
Arjuna said: 'O Krishna — seeing my own people standing here, eager to fight and kill, my limbs are giving way. My mouth has gone dry.'
A modern analogy
A police officer required to arrest a family member. A judge who must rule against a childhood friend. A surgeon whose patient turns out to be their parent. The professional knowledge is fully intact — the body still breaks. Arjuna's dry mouth and failing limbs are the body doing what it does when love and duty collide at full force.
What it does NOT mean
This is not cowardice. Arjuna has been in battle before — he is one of the greatest warriors alive. What unmakes him here is not fear of injury or death but the face of love in the enemy. He knows these people. The body responds to recognized faces differently than to strangers — this is neurological, not weak.
Take with you
- The body responds to moral crisis before the mind catches up — physical symptoms of anxiety are not weakness but information.
- Recognizing someone as 'svajana' — your own people — changes everything. We are not neutral toward those we love.
- Arjuna's crisis begins with seeing, not with thinking. Direct perception of reality is more powerful than any abstract argument.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
Arjuna said: Seeing these my kinsmen, O Krishna, standing eager for battle, my limbs fail and my mouth is parched. [1]
Arjuna said: O Krishna, seeing my kinsmen arrayed here eager to fight, my limbs fail and my mouth is parched. [4]
Arjuna said: O Krishna, seeing these my kinsmen arrayed, desirous to fight, my limbs fail me and my mouth is dried up. [5]
Arjuna said: O Krishna, seeing these my relatives standing desirous to fight, my limbs fail and my mouth is parched. [6]
Arjuna: My spirit faints! My limbs do fail! my mouth Is parched! a shuddering thrills me! and my hair Stands up! My Gandeev slips! My skin doth burn! [7]
Arjuna said: O Krishna, seeing my kinsmen standing eager to fight, my limbs fail me and my mouth is dried up. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
He looked — and saw everyone he has ever loved, lined up to kill or be killed.
Sanjaya describes what the blind king cannot see: Arjuna weeping, overwhelmed with compassion.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Destroyed is my delusion, memory restored by Your grace — I stand firm, free of doubt, and will do Your word.
Arjuna calls Duryodhana evil-minded — the last moment of moral clarity before grief clouds everything.
Your own imperfect path beats another's perfect path. Death in your own dharma is better. Another's dharma brings fear.
Verse 28 of 47 · back to Chapter 1