सञ्जय
In plain words
Sanjaya said: Hearing these words of Keshava, the crowned one, trembling, joined his palms and bowed. Overcome with fear upon fear, he bowed low and again addressed Krishna in a faltering voice.
Word for word
Having heard this word of Keśava, the crowned one, with joined palms, trembling, having saluted [Him], spoke again to Kṛṣṇa in a faltering voice, afraid and afraid again, bowing low:
The commentators
Bhagavadgītābhāṣyam
एतत् श्रुत्वा वचनं केशवस्य पूर्वोक्तं कृताञ्जलिः सन् वेपमानः कम्पमानः किरीटी नमस्कृत्वा, भूयः पुनः एव आह उक्तवान् कृष्णं सगद्गदं भयाविष्टस्य दुःखाभिघातात् स्नेहाविष्टस्य च हर्षोद्भवात् , अश्रुपूर्णनेत्रत्वे सति श्लेष्मणा कण्ठावरोधः ; ततश्च वाचः अपाटवं मन्दशब्दत्वं यत् स गद्गदः तेन सह वर्तत इति सगद्गदं वचनम् आह इति वचनक्रियाविशेषणम् एतत् । भीतभीतः पुनः पुनः भयाविष्टचेताः सन् प्रणम्य प्रह्वः भूत्वा, ‘आह’ इति व्यवहितेन सम्बन्धः ॥
अत्र अवसरे सञ्जयवचनं साभिप्रायम् । कथम् ? द्रोणादिषु अर्जुनेन निहतेषु अजेयेषु चतुर्षु, निराश्रयः दुर्योधनः निहतः एव इति मत्वा धृतराष्ट्रः जयं प्रति निराशः सन् सन्धिं करिष्यति, ततः शान्तिः उभयेषां भविष्यति इति । तदपि न अश्रौषीत् धृतराष्ट्रः भवितव्यवशात् ॥ ३५ ॥
In plain words
Having heard Kṛṣṇa's words, Arjuna — palms joined, trembling all over, still wearing his crown — bowed once more and spoke again, his voice breaking as he addressed Kṛṣṇa. That is what happens: when fear and tenderness both flood in at once, the eyes fill with tears, the throat tightens with the very ache of it, and the words come out broken and faint. That is the stammer in his voice. Frightened again and again, his mind gripped by fear, he bowed low once more — and it is to that single word 'said,' far off at the start of the sentence, that all of this finally connects.
Sañjaya says this now for a reason. What reason? He is thinking: once Arjuna has cut down Droṇa and the other three — the four no one could beat — Duryodhana has nothing left to stand on; he is already a dead man. Dhṛtarāṣṭra will see that victory is gone, he will make terms, and both sides will finally have peace. That was the hope inside the words. And Dhṛtarāṣṭra did not hear even that much, because what had to happen had him in its grip.
Close to the Sanskrit
Having heard this speech of Keśava, previously stated, with joined palms, being so, trembling, quivering, the crowned one, having bowed, again, once more indeed, said, spoke, to Kṛṣṇa, with a choked voice — from the shock of distress of one possessed by fear, and from the arising of joy of one possessed by affection; when the eyes become filled with tears, there is an obstruction of the throat by phlegm; and then the impairment of speech, the state of faint words, which stammering accompanies — thus, accompanied by a choked voice, he spoke this speech; this is a qualifier of the act of speaking. Frightened again and again, with a mind possessed by fear, being so, having bowed, having become bent low — the construction is with 'said', separated by intervening matter.
At this juncture, Sañjaya's statement is one carrying an intention. How? Thinking: 'When Droṇa and the rest — four, unconquerable — have been slain by Arjuna, Duryodhana, left without support, is as good as slain; Dhṛtarāṣṭra, becoming hopeless with regard to victory, will make a treaty, and from that there will be peace for both sides' — but even that Dhṛtarāṣṭra did not hear, by force of what was destined.