Chapter I · Śloka 30
Arjuna uvāca
न च शक्नोम्यवस्थातुं भ्रमतीव च मे मनः |
निमित्तानि च पश्यामि विपरीतानि केशव ||
निमित्तानि च पश्यामि विपरीतानि केशव ||
na ca śaknomy avasthātuṃ bhramatīva ca me manaḥ |
nimittāni ca paśyāmi viparītāni keśava ||
nimittāni ca paśyāmi viparītāni keśava ||
I am unable to stand here any longer; my mind is reeling. I see only evil omens, O Keshava.
Arjuna begins to read the world as omen — a sign that his rational faculties have yielded to dread. When the mind is overwhelmed it projects disaster outward and calls it fate. Keshava, the slayer of Keshi, is addressed — but Arjuna himself is the demon to be slain.