Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 11: The Vision of the Cosmic Form
Bhagavad Gita 11.24
नभःस्पृशं दीप्तमनेकवर्णं
व्यात्ताननं दीप्तविशालनेत्रम् ।
दृष्ट्वा हि त्वां प्रव्यथितान्तरात्मा
धृतिं न विन्दामि शमं च विष्णो ॥
nabhaḥspṛśaṃ dīptamanekavarṇaṃ vyāttānanaṃ dīptaviśālanetram | dṛṣṭvā hi tvāṃ pravyathitāntarātmā dhṛtiṃ na vindāmi śamaṃ ca viṣṇo ||
Seeing you touching the sky, blazing in many colours, with mouths wide open and huge fiery eyes, I am shaken to the core. I can find neither courage nor calm, O Vishnu.
Modern context
'I can find neither courage nor calm.' This is the opposite of the steadiness Krishna has been teaching. Arjuna has lost it, not through weakness but because he is facing something no one could absorb. The lesson is humbling. Inner steadiness is precious and worth cultivating, but there are encounters before which everyone is shaken, and that is no failure.