danṣhṭrā-karālāni cha te mukhāni
dṛiṣhṭvaiva kālānala-sannibhāni
diśho na jāne na labhe cha śharma
prasīda deveśha jagan-nivāsa
danṣhṭrā — teeth;
karālāni — terrible;
cha — and;
te — your;
mukhāni — mouths;
dṛiṣhṭvā — having seen;
eva — indeed;
kāla-anala — the fire of annihilation;
sannibhāni — resembling;
diśhaḥ — the directions;
na — not;
jāne — know;
na — not;
labhe — I obtain;
cha — and;
śharma — peace;
prasīda — have mercy;
deva-īśha — The Lord of lords;
jagat-nivāsa — The shelter of the universe
In this verse, Arjuna is really frightened and is asking Krishna for mercy. He calls Krishna the 'Lord of lords' and 'refuge of the worlds,' which means he sees Krishna as the most powerful and the one everyone looks up to for safety and help.
Arjuna describes how he feels completely off balance. When he looks at Krishna's universal form, he sees faces that are fierce and blazing, almost like they could bring death, which is very scary. He talks about the teeth being awful, adding to his fear. This shows that what he sees is overwhelming for him.
Arjuna's world was built on the idea that he understood the nature of reality, but now, faced with this immense and all-encompassing form of Krishna, he feels lost. He expresses his confusion by saying he is 'bewildered in all directions.' This means he doesn’t know what to make of what he sees; everything he thought he knew is turned upside down.
This moment shows us the great power and majesty of Krishna's universal form, indicating that even someone as brave as Arjuna can feel small and frightened in the presence of divine power. It also highlights the importance of seeking compassion and help from a higher power when facing something much greater than ourselves. In this case, Arjuna knows that Krishna can be his support and hopes that Krishna will show him kindness during this very unsettling experience.