This is the closing verse of Chapter 1.

Until now, Arjuna has been speaking. He has argued that the war will destroy families, disturb family dharma, create confusion in the next generation, deprive ancestors of offerings, destroy long-standing traditions, and lead people to narakaḥ [hell or downfall]. He has said that fighting would be mahat pāpam [great sin]. He has finally said that it would be better for him to be killed unarmed and unresisting.

Now Sanjaya reports what Arjuna does after saying all this.

The verse begins with sañjaya uvāca — “Sanjaya said.” Dhṛtarāṣṭra is hearing the events through Sanjaya’s narration. Arjuna’s speech is now over, and the action returns to Sanjaya’s report.

Evam uktvā means “having spoken thus.” Arjuna has completed his long speech of sorrowful reasoning. His words have exhausted themselves.

Then Sanjaya says, arjunaḥ saṅkhye rathopasthe upāviśat — “Arjuna sat down on the seat of the chariot in the battlefield.” Saṅkhye means in battle. Rathopasthaḥ refers to the seat or platform of the chariot. This is important. Arjuna is not sitting in a quiet hermitage. He is sitting down in the middle of a battlefield, at the moment when his duty calls him to stand and act.

Then comes the crucial action: visṛjya saśaraṁ cāpam — “having cast away the bow together with the arrows.” Cāpam means bow. Śaraḥ means arrow. Saśaram cāpam means the bow along with the arrows.

For a kṣatriya [warrior-protector], the bow and arrows are not just weapons. They represent his duty to protect dharma. Arjuna’s bow is the visible symbol of his svadharma [one’s own duty according to role and responsibility]. So throwing away the bow and arrows shows something deeper than physical tiredness. It shows svadharma-tyāgaḥ [giving up one’s own duty].

The verse ends with śoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ — “with a mind afflicted and shaken by sorrow.” Śokaḥ means sorrow. Saṁvigna-mānasaḥ means a disturbed, agitated, or afflicted mind. Arjuna’s mind is not clear. It is pierced by grief.

This one expression gathers the whole first chapter. Arjuna’s hidden rāgaḥ [attachment] surfaced when he saw Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and his own people. From that attachment came śokaḥ [sorrow]. From that sorrow came mohaḥ [confusion or delusion], the confusion between dharma and adharma. Now that mohaḥ becomes visible as action: he throws away his bow and arrows.

This is why the act is so powerful. Arjuna does not merely say, “I am confused.” He acts out the confusion. Dharma-yuddha [righteous war] appears to him as adharma. Running away from his kṣatriya duty appears to him as dharma. Therefore, the chapter ends with the visible form of his inner problem: the warrior sits down and abandons the symbol of his duty.

Kṛṣṇa remains silent. That silence is not approval. Arjuna has discovered that something is wrong, but he has not yet discovered his helplessness. He has not yet surrendered as a student. He still thinks his conclusion is right. Only in the next chapter will he begin to recognize that he cannot solve this problem by himself.

This shloka completes Arjuna-viṣāda-yogaḥ [the chapter of Arjuna’s sorrow]: rāgaḥ [attachment], śokaḥ [sorrow], and mohaḥ [confusion] have fully expressed themselves, and Arjuna’s dropping of the bow shows that sorrow has now become svadharma-tyāgaḥ [abandonment of one’s own duty].