Sanskrit
सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिशुष्यति । वेपथुश्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्च जायते ॥
sīdanti mama gātrāṇi mukhaṃ ca pariśuṣyati vepathuś ca śarīre me romaharṣaś ca jāyate
Translation
My limbs fail and my mouth is parched, my body quivers, and my hair stands on end,
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The Gita’s description of Arjuna’s distress is strikingly physical, not abstract — failing limbs, a dry mouth, trembling, hair standing on end. It reads as a precise account of acute physiological shock, remarkable for how clinically specific it is about a warrior’s body failing him at the exact moment he’s expected to fight.
Study deeper
Word by word
- sīdantiसीदन्ति
- sink, give way
- mama gātrāṇiमम गात्राणि
- my limbs
- mukhaṃ ca pariśuṣyatiमुखं च परिशुष्यति
- and my mouth goes dry
- vepathuś caवेपथुश् च
- and trembling
- śarīre meशरीरे मे
- in my body
- roma-harṣaś caरोम-हर्षश् च
- and my hair standing on end
- jāyateजायते
- arises
Commentary
Site Commentary
No word for fear or grief actually appears in this verse — only symptoms: failing limbs, a dry mouth, trembling, hair on end. The distress is rendered entirely as body, and the reader has to infer the feeling the same way a person often first meets their own — not as a named emotion but as a physical fact that shows up before its name does.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you notice your body reacting before you can name what you're feeling — tight chest, dry mouth, restlessness — trust the signal even without the word for it yet; the feeling is often real before you can articulate it.
Professional
- If you notice physical stress signs before a hard meeting or decision — racing pulse, tension — don't wait until you can name the exact emotion to take it seriously; the body often knows the stakes before your conscious analysis catches up.
Family & Social
- If someone close to you looks physically off before they've said anything is wrong, trust what you're seeing — distress often shows up in the body well before a person can put a name to what they're feeling.
Ask yourself
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