Chapter1- Ślokā 47
evam uktvā’rjunaḥ saṇkhye rathopastha upāviśat |
visṛjya saśaraṃ cāpaṃ śoka saṃvigna mānasaḥ || 47 ||
(1.47)
uktvā- having spoken; evam- thus; saṇkhye- on the battlefield; Arjuna- Arjuna; śoka saṃvigna mānasaḥ- with mind agitated with grief; upāviśat- collapsed; rathopastha- on the chariot; visṛjya- cast aside; cāpaṃ- (his) bow; saśaraṃ - along with arrows;
Purport
After Arjuna concluded his speech, Sañjaya described to Dhṛtarāṣṭra what followed.
Sañjaya said, “Having spoken thus, Arjuna whose mind was agitated due to grief, collapsed on his chariot and cast aside his bow along with arrows.”
rathopastha upāviśat The elevated place in the centre of the chariot is the designated place for the ‘rathi’ (the one onboard the chariot- Arjuna in this case) The lower place in the front is for the sārathi (charioteer- Kṛṣṇa in this case). The place in between these two is called ‘upastha’. The meaning of 'rathopastha upāviśat' is that Arjuna got down from the rathi position and collapsed into a heap on the upastha as if on a fast unto death.
visṛjya saśaraṃ cāpaṃ Śruk (स्रुक्) and Śruva (स्रुव) are the spoon and ladle used to take out ghee from the ghee-pot and pour into the sacred fire in a yajña (sacrifice). They are the key components that assist in the performance of a yajña. Here Arjuna threw aside his bow and arrows which are equivalent to śruk and śruva in the yuddha yajña (war sacrifice).
śoka saṃvigna mānasaḥ In this world, destruction of one's own relatives causes śoka (grief). In this case, as the destruction of his kinsmen was certain, Arjuna was experiencing grief. (ō)vijī bhayacalanayoḥ iti dhātuḥ as per this śūtra from Mādhavīya dhātuvr̥itti, the dhātu (root verb) 'vij' means fear or agitation. Thus, 'saṃvigna' would mean to be frightened or agitated. 'śoka saṃvigna mānasaḥ' would therefore mean 'as Arjuna was in grief, his resolve to fight the battle began to scare and agitate his mind'.
visṛjya saśaraṃ cāpaṃ Soon, Arjuna's firm resolve to fight the battle got completely shaken and as a result he cast aside his bow and arrows and collapsed on his chariot.