2.7 I am your pupil Arjuna speaks
कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसंमूढचेताः
यच्छ्रेयः स्यान्निश्िचतं ब्रूहि तन्मे शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम्
kārpaṇya-doṣhopahata-svabhāvaḥ
pṛichchhāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-chetāḥ
yach-chhreyaḥ syānniśhchitaṁ brūhi tanme
śhiṣhyaste ’haṁ śhādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam
My own nature is undone by this failure of nerve; my sense of what is right is confused. I ask you: tell me plainly what is best. I am your pupil. Instruct me.
Explanation
The turn of the whole book, in one word.
śiṣyaḥ — I am your pupil. Instruct me.
Up to now Arjuna has been arguing. Here he stops and asks. Everything from this point to 18.73 exists because a man in a chariot changed what he was doing in a conversation.
Going further
Word by word
- kārpaṇya-doṣha
- the flaw of cowardice
- upahata
- besieged
- sva-bhāvaḥ
- nature
- pṛichchhāmi
- I am asking
- tvām
- to you
- dharma
- duty
- sammūḍha
- confused
- chetāḥ
- in heart
- yat
- what
- śhreyaḥ
- best
- syāt
- may be
- niśhchitam
- decisively
- brūhi
- tell
- tat
- that
- me
- to me
- śhiṣhyaḥ
- disciple
- te
- your
- aham
- I
- śhādhi
- please instruct
- mām
- me
- tvām
- unto you
- prapannam
- surrendered
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The turn of the whole book happens here, in one word: śhiṣhyaḥ — I am your pupil.
Up to now Arjuna has been arguing. In this verse he stops arguing and asks. Nothing Krishna says afterwards would land without it. If you are looking for the moment the Gita becomes a teaching rather than a quarrel, it is not Krishna's first speech — it is Arjuna's admission that he does not know.