Sanskrit
कथं भीष्ममहं सङ्ख्ये द्रोणं च मधुसूदन । इषुभिः प्रतियोत्स्यामि पूजार्हावरिसूदन ॥
kathaṃ bhīṣmam ahaṃ saṅkhye droṇaṃ ca madhusūdana iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāv arisūdana
Translation
How, O Madhusûdana, shall I attack Bhîshma and Drona with arrows in battle, they who are worthy of reverence, O slayer of foes?
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Arjuna’s first reply pushes back hard: how can he possibly loose arrows at Bhishma and Drona — his grandfather and his teacher, men he owes reverence — merely because Krishna calls it cowardice? The objection is concrete and personal, not abstract: these are specific people, and the question of what he owes them is exactly what the chapter’s later teaching on duty will have to answer.