Sanskrit
कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभावः पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेताः । यच्छ्रेयः स्यान्निश्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मे शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम् ॥
kārpaṇyadoṣopahatasvabhāvaḥ pṛcchāmi tvāṃ dharmasammūḍhacetāḥ yac chreyaḥ syān niścitaṃ brūhi tan me śiṣyas te'haṃ śādhi māṃ tvāṃ prapannam
Translation
My heart is weighed down with the vice of faintness; my mind is confused as to duty. I ask thee which may be the better—that tell me decisively. I am thy disciple, suppliant to Thee; teach me.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The turning point of the whole opening. Arjuna stops arguing and asks to be taught: “I am your disciple; instruct me, for I have taken refuge in you.” This single line changes the register of the entire dialogue — from a warrior stating his objections to a student asking a teacher a real question — and everything from verse 11 onward is Krishna’s answer to it.