Verse 2.35
भयाद्रणादुपरतं मंस्यन्ते त्वां महारथा: |
येषां च त्वं बहुमतो भूत्वा यास्यसि लाघवम् || 35||
bhayād raṇād uparataṁ mansyante tvāṁ mahā-rathāḥ
yeṣhāṁ cha tvaṁ bahu-mato bhūtvā yāsyasi lāghavam
bhayāt—out of fear; raṇāt—from the battlefield; uparatam—have fled; maṁsyante—will think; tvām—you; mahā-rathāḥ—warriors who could single handedly match the strength of ten thousand ordinary warriors; yeṣhām—for whom; cha—and; tvam—you; bahu-mataḥ—high esteemed; bhūtvā—having been; yāsyasi—you will lose; lāghavam—decreased in value
The great generals who hold you in high esteem will think that you fled from the battlefield out of fear, and thus will lose their respect for you.
Arjuna has a reputation among the warriors as the one who had fought against mahadev shiva himself and received from him the pasupadasthram as a gift. Even kings like Duryodana praised his valor and brevity. In this time of trouble if Arjuna backs off from the battlefield, they would not appreciate his doing as he did this out of love. They would only ridicule him saying he retreated from the war out of fear (bhayath ranath uparatham). The praise could easily turn into mockery demeaning all his efforts (laghavam). It is not proper for Arjuna to do this act that brings about misery.
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