कच्चिन्नोभयविभ्रष्टश्छिन्नाभ्रमिव नश्यति । अप्रतिष्ठो महाबाहो विमूढो ब्रह्मणः पथि ॥
kaccinnobhayavibhraṣṭaśchinnābhramiva naśyati | apratiṣṭho mahābāho vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi ||
Translation
Does such a person, fallen from both, without foundation, confused on the path to Brahman, not perish like a torn cloud, O mighty-armed one?
Interpretation
Arjuna completes his question with a vivid image: the torn cloud. A cloud that has broken apart no longer brings rain — it neither serves its original purpose nor reaches the ocean as rainfall. Similarly, one who has fallen from both worldly life (given up sense pleasures for spiritual practice) and from the spiritual path (failed to complete the practice) — does such a person simply perish, unmoored and without foundation? The image conveys Arjuna's genuine anxiety about spiritual failure.