अर्जुन उवाच अयतिः श्रद्धयोपेतो योगाच्चलितमानसः । अप्राप्य योगसंसिद्धिं कां गतिं कृष्ण गच्छति ॥
arjuna uvāca ayatiḥ śraddhayopeto yogāccalitamānasaḥ | aprāpya yogasaṃsiddhiṃ kāṃ gatiṃ kṛṣṇa gacchati ||
Translation
Arjuna said: One who is endowed with faith but who has not striven, whose mind has slipped from yoga — what path does such a person go, O Krishna, having failed to attain the perfection of yoga?
Interpretation
This is perhaps the most humanly poignant question in the entire Gita. Arjuna asks about the sincere but unsuccessful spiritual student — the one who had faith (shraddha), tried earnestly, but whose mind slipped from the practice before completion. What happens to such a person? This is not a theoretical question; it is the fear of every sincere practitioner. Krishna's answer, coming in the next verses, is one of the most compassionate and hopeful passages in sacred literature.