Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 11: The Vision of the Cosmic Form
Bhagavad Gita 11.49
मा ते व्यथा मा च विमूढभावो
दृष्ट्वा रूपं घोरमीदृङ्ममेदम् ।
व्यपेतभीः प्रीतमनाः पुनस्त्वं
तदेव मे रूपमिदं प्रपश्य ॥
mā te vyathā mā ca vimūḍhabhāvo dṛṣṭvā rūpaṃ ghoramīdṛṅmamedam | vyapetabhīḥ prītamanāḥ punastvaṃ tadeva me rūpamidaṃ prapaśya ||
Do not be afraid, and do not be bewildered, at seeing this terrible form of mine. Free from fear and glad at heart, see once again the form you know.
Modern context
'Do not be afraid.' After showing Arjuna the most terrifying sight in the Gita, Krishna comforts him like a parent with a frightened child. The power that consumes worlds is also the one that says gently, 'see the form you know'. Both are true. The tenderness does not cancel the terror, and the terror does not cancel the tenderness.