Sanskrit
सीदन्ति मम गात्राणि मुखं च परिशुष्यति । वेपथुश्च शरीरे मे रोमहर्षश्च जायते ॥
sīdanti mama gātrāṇi mukhaṃ ca pariśuṣyati vepathuś ca śarīre me romaharṣaś ca jāyate
Translation
My limbs fail and my mouth is parched, my body quivers, and my hair stands on end,
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The Gita’s description of Arjuna’s distress is strikingly physical, not abstract — failing limbs, a dry mouth, trembling, hair standing on end. It reads as a precise account of acute physiological shock, remarkable for how clinically specific it is about a warrior’s body failing him at the exact moment he’s expected to fight.