Bhagavad Gita 11.24 · Arjuna
I can't find my footing
नभःस्पृशं दीप्तमनेकवर्णं
व्यात्ताननं दीप्तविशालनेत्रम्।
दृष्ट्वा हि त्वां प्रव्यथितान्तरात्मा
धृतिं न विन्दामि शमं च विष्णो॥
nabhaḥspṛśaṃ dīptamanekavarṇaṃ vyāttānanaṃ dīptaviśālanetramdṛṣṭvā hi tvāṃ pravyathitāntarātmā dhṛtiṃ na vindāmi śamaṃ ca viṣṇo
Seeing You touch the sky, blazing, many-coloured, mouths open wide, eyes huge and burning, my heart trembles. I find no steadiness, no peace, Vishnu.
What it means
Arjuna sees Krishna's form reaching the sky, blazing in every colour, mouths wide, eyes enormous and fiery. He confesses his inmost self is shaking. He can find neither dhriti, steadiness, nor shama, peace. The vision he longed for has swept the ground from under his feet.
The story
Arjuna calls Krishna Vishnu here, recognising the cosmic God. Everything familiar is gone. This is the edge of what a human can bear, and Arjuna is honest about it.
In your life
Think of someone moving to a new country, overwhelmed, nothing familiar, no footing yet. It passes, and they grow. If life feels too big right now, find one small steady thing to hold today.
When footing is lost, hold one small steady thing.