Chapter I · Śloka 29
Arjuna uvāca
वेपथुश्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्च जायते |
गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात् त्वक्चैव परिदह्यते ||
गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात् त्वक्चैव परिदह्यते ||
vepathuś ca śarīre me roma-harṣaś ca jāyate |
gāṇḍīvaṃ sraṃsate hastāt tvak caiva paridahyate ||
gāṇḍīvaṃ sraṃsate hastāt tvak caiva paridahyate ||
My whole body quivers, my hair stands on end, my bow Gandiva slips from my hand, and my skin burns all over.
Arjuna names his bow by name — Gandiva, the incomparable gift of the gods — and says it is slipping from his grasp. The symbolic weight is enormous: the warrior's identity, his purpose, his dharma are all falling away at once.