Mahabharata 3.39.2 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 39, Shloka 2

Arjuna’s Himalayan Departure and the Commencement of Severe Tapas

Janamejaya’s Inquiry; Sages Approach Śiva

Devanagari script

कैरातं वेषमास्थाय काठ्चनद्रुमसंनिभम्‌ । विभ्राजमानो विपुलो गिरिमेंरुरिवापर:

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca—kairātaṁ veṣam āsthāya kāñcanadruma-sannibham | vibhrājamāno vipulo giri-merur ivāparaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Nachdem jene großherzigen Asketen fortgegangen waren, nahm Śaṅkara — Vernichter der Sünde, Träger des Pināka-Bogens — die Tracht eines Kirāta (Bergjägers) an. In göttlichem Glanz wie ein goldener Baum strahlte er hervor: weit und lodernd, wie ein zweiter Berg Meru. Die Szene macht deutlich, dass das Göttliche auch schlichte Gestalten annehmen kann, um zu prüfen, zu führen und das Dharma zu wahren, ohne seine höchste Majestät zu verlieren.

Word by Word

• कैरातम्: Kirāta (hunter) (as)
• कैरातम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कैरात
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वेषम्: guise, dress
• वेषम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आस्थाय: having assumed/taken up
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (आ-स्था)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), Non-finite

• काञ्चनद्रुमसंनिभम्: like a golden tree
• काञ्चनद्रुमसंनिभम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काञ्चन-द्रुम-संनिभ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• विभ्राजमानः: shining, resplendent
• विभ्राजमानः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: विभ्राज्
• Form: शानच् (present participle), Ātmanepada, Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विपुलः: vast, huge
• विपुलः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विपुल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गिरिमेरुः: Mount Meru
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि-मेरु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• अपरः: another, second
• अपरः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Janamejaya
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Pināka (Śiva’s bow)
• Kirāta (hunter guise)
• Mount Meru
• tapasvins/maharṣis (ascetic sages)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that the divine can assume ordinary or unexpected forms to accomplish righteous purposes; outward appearance may conceal supreme power, and true dharma-discernment requires humility and reverence beyond externals.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the sages leave, Śiva appears on the scene in the guise of a Kirāta (mountain hunter), yet he is described as dazzling like a golden tree and immense like another Mount Meru—signaling a concealed theophany that will shape the ensuing events.