Arjuna as Ideal Disciple
Arjuna (arjuna = bright, white, pure) is the Pāṇḍava prince who is the primary recipient of the Bhagavad Gītā. Standing between the two armies at the start of the Kurukṣetra war, overcome by grief and confusion, he collapsed in his chariot — and this moment of helplessness (viṣāda) became the occasion for Kṛṣṇa's teaching.
In Sri Vaishnava interpretation, Arjuna's collapse is not weakness but the first step of kārpaṇya (helplessness-acknowledgment) — the necessary precondition for receiving divine teaching. Without his breakdown, there would be no Bhagavad Gītā.
The Sakhya Bhāva
Arjuna's relationship with Kṛṣṇa represents sakhya bhāva — the devotional mode of friendship. They are sakhās (friends, companions) — Kṛṣṇa the charioteer, Arjuna the archer. The charioteer serves the warrior — a beautiful inversion in which the Supreme Lord himself takes on a servant role for his devoted friend.
After witnessing the Viśvarūpa (cosmic form) and being overwhelmed, Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa to return to his familiar two-armed form — expressing the sakhya bhakta's preference for the personal, intimate Lord over the awesome cosmic Lord.
The Charama-śloka's Context
The charama-śloka (Gītā 18.66) was spoken to Arjuna as the culminating teaching — after all the analysis of karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, and bhakti-yoga, Kṛṣṇa finally says: "Abandon all dharmas and take refuge in me alone." Arjuna, as the ideal disciple, accepted this teaching and arose to fight.