Bhagavad Gita 2.9
सञ्जय उवाच । एवमुक्त्वा हृषीकेशं गुडाकेशः परंतप । न योत्स्य इति गोविन्दमुक्त्वा तूष्णीं बभूव ह ॥
sañjaya uvāca | evam uktvā hṛṣīkeśaṃ guḍākeśaḥ parantapa | na yotsya iti govindam uktvā tūṣṇīṃ babhūva ha ||
Translation
Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus to Hrishikesha, Gudakesha, harasser of foes, said to Govinda, "I will not fight," and became silent.
Reflection
When did saying the worst thing aloud make space for what came next?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Two
Na yotsye. I will not fight. Three words, the position stated plainly for the first time. Then tūṣṇīṃ babhūva. He became silent. The silence is the new thing. Until now Arjuna has been talking, listing, arguing, deflecting. Now he stops. Sanjaya notes the silence with care, because something has changed in the chariot. The student has said the worst thing and shut his mouth. The space for the teaching has opened. Notice the epithet: Guḍākeśa, conqueror of sleep, used in the moment Arjuna refuses to act. The wakeful one has decided not to move.