आख्याहि मे को भवानुग्ररूपोनमोऽस्तु ते देववर प्रसीद ।विज्ञातुमिच्छामि भवन्तमाद्यंन हि प्रजानामि तव प्रवृत्तिम् ॥
ākhyāhi me ko bhavānugrarūponamo'stu te devavara prasīda |vijñātumicchāmi bhavantamādyaṃna hi prajānāmi tava pravṛttim ||
Tell me, who are you, with this fearsome form? Salutations to you, O best of gods—be gracious. I want to know you, the original one, for I do not understand what you are doing.
Explanation
Arjuna is shaken by the blazing, devouring cosmic form (viśvarūpa) he has just seen. He bows, asks the form to identify itself, and admits he cannot understand what it is doing (pravṛtti, literally its activity or purpose). Krishna's answer comes in the next verse.