सञ्जय उवाच एतच्छ्रुत्वा वचनं केशवस्य कृताञ्जलिर्वेपमानः किरीटी । नमस्कृत्वा भूय एवाह कृष्णं सगद्गदं भीतभीतः प्रणम्य ॥
sañjaya uvāca etacchrutvā vacanaṃ keśavasya kṛtāñjalirvepamānaḥ kirīṭī | namaskṛtvā bhūya evāha kṛṣṇaṃ sagadgadaṃ bhītabhītaḥ praṇamya ||
Translation
Sanjaya said: Having heard that word of Keshava, the crowned one (Arjuna), with joined palms, trembling, prostrated himself and again spoke to Krishna in a choked voice, bowing in fear.
Interpretation
Sanjaya narrates Arjuna's physical state after hearing 'I am Time': kiriti (the crowned one — Arjuna) is vepamana (trembling), kritanjalih (palms joined), bhitabhitah (deeply afraid — the reduplication intensifies the fear). He prostrates fully and speaks with a sagadgadam (choked voice, voice thick with emotion). The sight of Krishna as Time, the destroyer, has profoundly shaken Arjuna. What follows is Arjuna's most intimate prayer — spoken from the edge of overwhelming.