Shloka 42

Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness

Nivātakavaca engagement

Devanagari script

एवं कृत्वा स भगवांस्ततो<न्यद्‌ रूपमास्थित: । दिव्यमेव महाराज वसानो<द्धभुतमम्बरम्‌

Transliteration

evaṁ kṛtvā sa bhagavāṁs tato 'nyad rūpam āsthitaḥ | divyam eva mahārāja vasāno 'dbhutam ambaram ||

Translation

এভাবে করে সেই ভগবান পরে অন্য এক রূপ ধারণ করলেন। হে মহারাজ! কিরাত-রূপ ত্যাগ করে দেবাধিদেব মহেশ্বর স্বীয় দিব্য স্বরূপে প্রকাশিত হলেন এবং আশ্চর্য, অলৌকিক বসন পরিধান করে সেখানেই দাঁড়ালেন।

Word by Word

• {'evaṁ': 'thus, in this manner', 'kṛtvā': 'having done (having acted)', 'saḥ': 'he', 'bhagavān': 'the Blessed Lord

• a divine, venerable being', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'anyat': 'another, different', 'rūpam': 'form, appearance', 'āsthitaḥ': 'assumed

• entered into', 'divyam': 'divine, celestial', 'eva': 'indeed, precisely', 'mahārāja': 'O great king (address to Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'vasānaḥ': 'wearing, clothed in', 'adbhutam': 'marvellous, astonishing', 'ambaram': 'garment

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Śaṅkara
• Maheśvara
• Mahārāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Divine garments (adbhuta ambaram)
• Kīrāta form (hunter guise, implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights divine grace and revelation: the deity may appear in a concealed, testing form, and sincere courage, discipline, and devotion culminate in the Lord revealing his true nature.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the preceding actions in the encounter, the Lord—identified as Śaṅkara/Maheśvara—abandons the hunter (kīrāta) guise and manifests a radiant divine form, standing before Arjuna in wondrous celestial attire.