Sanjaya speaks as Arjuna is not aware of his state. Only an objective person is capable of seeing things as they are. He portrays Arjuna’s complete breakdown:
Physical – Arjuna was in tears.
Emotional – He was overwhelmed with pity.
Intellectual – He was dejected and had lost hope.
A well fortified person does not allow the tears to flow. He feels emotion but is never emotional. And he does not lose hope. He is always positive in his approach to life.
A warrior must be fully charged for battle. Arjuna’s low morale would have affected the entire army if Krsna had not intervened. The war would have been lost even before the first arrow was shot!
Krsna spoke to Arjuna in this condition and completely rehabilitated him by the end of the 18th Chapter, a matter of three hours. The Bhagavad Gita steps down from the pristine heights of the Upanisads to the level of the common person. It is far more down to earth than the Upanisads and caters to a different segment of humanity. The theme of the Gita is the need to control the mind in order to conquer the world. Here Arjuna, has no concept of self-conquest and sets out to conquer the world! The mind plays tricks on you. It creates havoc in your personality. You need intellectual strength to hold the mind in place.