Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 35

भयाद्रणादुपरतं मंस्यन्ते त्वां महारथाः | येषां च त्वं बहुमतो भूत्वा यास्यसि लाघवम् ||

bhayād raṇād uparataṁ maṁsyante tvāṁ mahā-rathāḥ yeṣāṁ ca tvaṁ bahu-mato bhūtvā yāsyasi lāghavam

The great warriors will think you have withdrawn from battle out of fear. And you will fall into insignificance in the eyes of those who once highly esteemed you.

Krishna warns about the gap between intention and perception. Arjuna's actual reasons—compassion, moral confusion—won't be visible. Only his refusal to fight will be seen, and 'mahā-rathāḥ' (great warriors), the peers whose judgment matters in his world, will think 'bhayād uparatam' (withdrawn from fear). He'll go from 'bahu-mataḥ' (highly esteemed) to 'lāghavam' (disgrace)—not gradually but instantly. One choice, permanent consequence. Your internal reasons rarely reach others; your visible actions do. Fair? Maybe not. True? Yes.