Sanskrit
गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात्त्वक्चैव परिदह्यते । न च शक्नोम्यवस्थातुं भ्रमतीव च मे मनः ॥
gāṇḍīvaṃ sraṃsate hastāt tvak caiva paridahyate na ca śaknomy avasthātuṃ bhramatīva ca me manaḥ
Translation
Gândîva slips from my hand, and my skin burns all over, I am not able to stand, my mind is whirling,
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The physical breakdown from verse 29 escalates to the symbolic: Gândîva, Arjuna’s famous bow — the very tool of his identity as a warrior — slips from his own hand. Losing the capacity to even stand upright completes the picture before Arjuna, in the following verses, starts turning this bodily collapse into an actual argument.
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Word by word
- gāṇḍīvaṃगाण्डीवं
- Gāṇḍīva — Arjuna's bow
- sraṃsateस्रंसते
- slips
- hastātहस्तात्
- from my hand
- tvak caivaत्वक् चैव
- and my skin
- paridahyateपरिदह्यते
- burns all over
- na ca śaknomyन च शक्नोंय्
- and I am not able
- avasthātuṃअवस्थातुं
- to stand firm
- bhramatīvaभ्रमतीव
- as if reeling
- ca me manaḥच मे मनः
- and my mind
Commentary
Site Commentary
Where verse 29 stayed entirely physical, this verse ends by naming the mind directly — “my mind is whirling.” It’s the first cognitive symptom in the sequence, not just another bodily one, marking the moment Arjuna’s collapse moves from body to the coherence of thought itself, right before he starts, in the next verse, trying to think anyway.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Site Commentary — Second Reading
The list stacks concrete, external damage — bow slipping, skin burning, legs failing — and then finally reaches for something Arjuna can’t point to or name precisely, only describe as motion: his mind “whirling.” That’s the recognizable shape of acute panic wherever it appears — a surgeon’s hands are steady seconds before a critical incision and then aren’t, a public speaker’s memorized opening line is simply gone — the collapse always finds the mind last, and it’s the one loss that can’t be blamed on the body. Naming it here isn’t Arjuna being dramatic; it’s the most accurate report available to someone whose instrument for giving accurate reports has itself started to fail.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- When you notice your thinking itself starting to feel scattered under stress, not just your body reacting, recognize that as a distinct signal — it usually means you need to pause before making a decision, not push through it.
Professional
- If a high-stakes moment leaves your thinking foggy, not just your nerves rattled, treat that as a signal to delay the decision if you can — reasoning under a whirling mind rarely holds up once the moment passes.
Family & Social
- If a hard family conversation leaves you unable to think straight, not just upset, say so out loud and ask for a pause — pushing through decisions made with a whirling mind rarely serves anyone well.
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