Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 1, Verse 47
सञ्जय उवाच
एवमुक्त्वाऽर्जुनः संख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत्।
विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः।।
एवमुक्त्वाऽर्जुनः संख्ये रथोपस्थ उपाविशत्।
विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानसः।।
sañjaya uvāca
evam uktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye rathopastha upāviśat
visṛjya sa-śaraṁ cāpaṁ śoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ
also searched as "evam uktvarjunah sankhye rathopastha upavishat"
Translation
Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus on the battlefield, Arjuna threw aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot seat, his heart overwhelmed with grief.
Vāṇi's rendering
With that, Arjuna sank onto the chariot seat, dropping bow and arrows, his heart drowned in grief.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सञ्जयःsañjayaḥ | Sanjaya |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| एवम्evam | thus, in this way |
| उक्त्वाuktvā | having spoken |
| अर्जुनःarjunaḥ | Arjuna (joined in sandhi with uktvā) |
| संख्येsaṅkhye | in the midst of the battle |
| रथोपस्थेratha-upasthe | on the seat of the chariot (the final e becomes a before upāviśat) |
| उपाविशत्upāviśat | sat down, sank down |
| विसृज्यvisṛjya | having let go, cast away |
| सशरम्sa-śaram | together with the arrows |
| चापम्cāpam | the bow |
| शोकसंविग्नमानसःśoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ | his mind shaken and overwhelmed by grief |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Verse 47 mean?
It is Sanjaya's report of a collapse. Arjuna stops speaking, lets go of bow and arrows, and sits down on the chariot seat between two waiting armies, his mind shaken by śoka, grief. The first chapter closes not with an answer but with a warrior who cannot stand up.
What does evam uktvarjunah sankhye rathopastha upavishat mean?
Having spoken in this way in the midst of the battle, Arjuna sat down on the seat of his chariot. The line moves from speech to silence, from standing to sitting. Everything he said before was reasoning; this is what his body does when the reasoning runs out.
Why does the Gita's first chapter end in despair?
Because teaching begins where certainty ends. As long as Arjuna held his bow, he needed no counsel. Krishna waits until the weapons are on the floor. Your own honest breakdown is not a failure of the path — it is often the doorway that lets the path in.
What does it mean that Arjuna dropped his bow?
The Gāṇḍīva was his identity, his skill, his standing in the world. Dropping it is not cowardice; it is grief taking the hands before it takes the voice. Notice when your own grip loosens — on work, on a role, on a plan. Something in you is asking to be taught.
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Commentary
The chapter ends with a man sitting down. Arjuna has argued well — kinship, ruin, the collapse of families, the sin of it — and Sanjaya reports none of the argument, only the body: bow released, arrows loose on the floor, a warrior lowered onto the seat of the chariot he asked to have driven between the armies. Grief has weight. It takes the hands first. Krishna says nothing yet; the Gītā's whole teaching waits on the far side of this silence. When your own hands go slack like that, do not rush to pick anything up. Something is about to be said to you.