आख्याहि मे को भवानुग्ररूपो नमोऽस्तु ते देववर प्रसीद। विज्ञातुमिच्छामि भवन्तमाद्यं न हि प्रजानामि तव प्रवृत्तिम्।।11.31।।
ākhyāhi me ko bhavān ugra-rūpo namo ’stu te deva-vara prasīda vijñātum ichchhāmi bhavantam ādyaṁ na hi prajānāmi tava pravṛittim
Scripture Translation Room
Sanskrit to English Translation
A Reading - Rantideb
Why: Arjuna asks directly who Krishna is in this terrible form, and asks for grace, saying he wishes to understand, since he cannot comprehend Krishna's actions, again pairing genuine confusion with a direct, honest request for understanding rather than pretending to already grasp it.
In life: it's more useful to directly ask for understanding when you're genuinely confused about something significant than to quietly pretend you've already grasped it.
Teaching: the next time you're genuinely confused by something significant happening around you, ask directly for understanding, the way Arjuna does here, rather than performing comprehension you don't actually have.