Verse 2.12.12.22.32.42.52.62.72.82.92.102.112.122.132.142.152.162.172.182.192.202.212.222.232.242.252.262.272.282.292.302.312.322.332.342.352.362.372.382.392.402.412.422.432.442.452.462.472.482.492.502.512.522.532.542.552.562.572.582.592.602.612.622.632.642.652.662.672.682.692.702.712.72

Sanjaya said To him who was thus overcome with pity and who was despondent, with eyes full of tears and agitated, Madhusudana (the destroyer of Madhu) or Krishna spoke these words.

Sanjaya said: To him, seized by pity, his eyes brimming and troubled with tears, sinking in despair, Madhusudana spoke these words.

The chapter opens with Sanjaya, the narrator reporting the battlefield scene to the blind king Dhritarashtra. At the close of chapter one Arjuna had dropped his bow; here Sanjaya describes him as overcome by pity, tearful and sinking. Krishna is named Madhusudana, slayer of the demon Madhu, a quiet reminder that the one about to speak has faced and overcome destructive forces before. The verse sets the emotional ground for everything that follows: the teaching begins not in a classroom but in a moment of collapse, and it answers a real human crisis.