Bhagavad Gita Verse 28-30, Chapter 1

Arjuna uvaacha:
jaatasya hi dhruvo mrityurdhruvam janma mritasya cha |
dhrishtvemaam svajanam krishna yuyutsam samupasthitam || 28 ||
 
seedanti mama gaatrani mukham cha parishushyati
vepathuscha shareere me romaharshascha jaayate || 29 ||
 
gaandeevam stransate hastatvakchaiva paridahyate
na cha shaknomyavasthaatuma bhramateeva cha me manaha  || 30 ||
 
O Krishna, I see my kinsmen gathered here to fight. My limbs are weakening, and my mouth has completely dried up, my body is quivering and my hair is standing on end. My Gaandeeva bow is slipping from my hands, my skin is burning, I am unable to stand and cannot think clearly.
 
dhrishtva-mama : seeing my
svajanam : kinsmen
krishna : O Krishna
yuyutsam : wanting to fight
samupasthitam : gathered here
seedanti : weakening
mama : my
gaatrani : limbs
mukham cha : and mouth
parishushyati : completely dry
 
vepathuscha : quivering
shareere : body
me : my
romaharshascha : hair standing on end
jaayate : happening
gaandeevam : bow
stransate : slipping
hastak : from my hands
tvak cha paridahyate : skin is burning
 
na cha shaknomy : unable to
avasthaatuma : stand
bhramateeva : deluded
cha me manaha : my mind
 
After his mind was thrown off balance, Arjuna experienced a full-scale panic attack. In these verses, Arjuna described his symptoms to Shri Krishna, beginning first with his physical symptoms and in later verses, his mental and emotional symptoms.
 
It is rare that one gets to see a blow-by-blow account of a nervous breakdown in a spiritual text. But as we have seen, the Gita is not just a spiritual text but also an extremely practical text.
 
The rest of the chapter will look at what statements Arjuna or any individual will make when undergoing a highly disturbed emotional state. Many commentaries do not give importance to these verses. However, I think they are instructive for a variety of reasons, the primary one being that when we undergo such disturbed emotional states, we lose the objectivity to see clearly what is happening to us and perhaps stay alert for such symptoms.