Chapter II · Śloka 35
भयाद्रणादुपरतं मंस्यन्ते त्वां महारथाः |
येषां च त्वं बहुमतो भूत्वा यास्यसि लाघवम् ||
येषां च त्वं बहुमतो भूत्वा यास्यसि लाघवम् ||
bhayād raṇād uparataṃ maṃsyante tvāṃ mahā-rathāḥ |
yeṣāṃ ca tvaṃ bahu-mato bhūtvā yāsyasi lāghavam ||
yeṣāṃ ca tvaṃ bahu-mato bhūtvā yāsyasi lāghavam ||
The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will consider you insignificant.
Those who once held Arjuna in the highest regard will interpret his retreat as cowardice — not compassion. The world does not know the interior of a man's reasoning; it reads his actions. A warrior's credibility, once surrendered, is not easily recovered.