Bhagavad Gita 1.28
कृपया परयाविष्टो विषीदन्निदमब्रवीत् । अर्जुन उवाच । दृष्ट्वेमं स्वजनं कृष्ण युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम् ॥
kṛpayā parayāviṣṭo viṣīdann idam abravīt | arjuna uvāca: dṛṣṭvemaṃ sva-janaṃ kṛṣṇa yuyutsuṃ samupasthitam ||
Translation
Filled with extreme pity, despondent, he spoke this. Arjuna said: Krishna, seeing these kinsmen present here, eager to fight,
Reflection
Where might the right move look like giving up?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter One
Kṛpayā parayāviṣṭaḥ. Overcome by extreme pity. Viṣīdan. Sinking, despondent. The chapter's title, Arjuna-viṣāda-yoga, names this exact moment. The yoga of Arjuna's despair. The text frames the collapse not as failure but as a stage of the practice, with its own name. Sometimes the spiritual move is to sit down. The despair is not a detour. It is the first verse of the road.