Speaker: Arjuna
वेपथुश्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्च जायते ।
गाण्डीवं स्रंसते हस्तात्त्वक्चैव परिदह्यते ॥२९॥
vepathuś ca śarīre me
roma-harṣaś ca jāyate
gāṇḍīvaṁ sraṁsate hastāt
tvak caiva paridahyate
Word for word (synonyms)
- vepathuḥ
- trembling of the body
- ca
- also
- śarīre
- on the body
- me
- my
- roma-harṣaḥ
- standing of hair on end
- ca
- also
- jāyate
- is taking place
- gāṇḍīvam
- the bow of Arjuna
- sraṁsate
- is slipping
- hastāt
- from the hands
- tvak
- skin
- ca
- also
- eva
- certainly
- paridahyate
- burning
Translation
My whole body is trembling, and my hair is standing on end. My bow Gāṇḍīva is slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning.
Purport
There are two kinds of trembling of the body, and two kinds of standings of the hair on end. Such phenomena occur either in great spiritual ecstasy or out of great fear under material conditions. There is no fear in transcendental realization. Arjuna's symptoms in this situation are out of material fear—namely, loss of life. This is evident from other symptoms also; he became so impatient that his famous bow Gāṇḍīva was slipping from his hands, and, because his heart was burning within him, he was feeling a burning sensation of the skin. All these are due to a material conception of life.
What this verse teaches
First reason – Compassion for relatives and the resultant bodily symptoms
- Gita for Life
- Family and relationships
Qualities in this verse
Symptoms of Arjuna's bewilderment
- My whole body is trembling
- my hair is standing on end
- My bow Gāṇḍīva is slipping from my hand
- my skin is burning
Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures 1
- Bhagavad-gītā 1.28–29 1973-07-22
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.