Shloka 17

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

Nivātakavaca engagement

Devanagari script

ऊर्ध्वबाहुश्नतुर्थ तु मासमस्मि स्थितस्तदा । नच मे हीयते प्राणस्तदद्भुतमिवाभवत्‌

Transliteration

ūrdhvabāhuś caturthaṁ tu māsam asmi sthitas tadā | na ca me hīyate prāṇas tad adbhutam ivābhavat ||

Translation

Arjuna said: “In the fourth month, I stood with my arms raised upward. Yet my vital strength did not diminish; it seemed almost miraculous.”

Word by Word

• {'ūrdhva': 'upward, raised', 'bāhu': 'arm', 'ūrdhvabāhuḥ': 'with arms raised upward (a posture of austerity)', 'caturtham': 'the fourth', 'tu': 'indeed, but (emphatic particle)', 'māsam': 'month', 'asmi': 'I am / I remained', 'sthitaḥ': 'standing, stationed, remaining', 'tadā': 'then, at that time', 'na': 'not', 'ca': 'and', 'me': 'my', 'hīyate': 'diminishes, wanes', 'prāṇaḥ': 'vital breath

• vitality', 'tat': 'that', 'adbhutam': 'wonderful, astonishing', 'iva': 'as if, like', 'abhavat': 'became, occurred'}

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights tapas—disciplined endurance and control of body and mind—as a means to build inner power and steadiness. Ethically, it points to austerity as valuable when aligned with dharma and sincere purpose, not as mere display.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna is recounting the intensity of his ascetic observance: during the fourth month he maintained the difficult posture of standing with arms raised, and despite the hardship his vitality did not decline, which he describes as astonishing.