Shloka 43

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

Nivātakavaca engagement

Devanagari script

हित्वा किरातरूपं च भगवांस्त्रिदशे श्वर: । स्वरूपं दिव्यमास्थाय तस्थौ तत्र महेश्वर:

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca | hitvā kirātarūpaṃ ca bhagavāṃs tridāśeśvaraḥ | svarūpaṃ divyam āsthāya tasthau tatra maheśvaraḥ ||

Translation

Arjuna said: “Then the Blessed Lord, the sovereign of the gods, casting aside the guise of a Kirāta (mountain-hunter), assumed his own radiant divine form. There, Mahādeva stood revealed.” In the narrative, the episode underscores that the deity may adopt a humble or testing disguise to examine a seeker’s resolve; when steadfastness and sincerity are proven, the divine presence is disclosed openly, affirming devotion and disciplined effort as ethically transformative.

Word by Word

• {'arjuna uvāca': 'Arjuna said', 'hitvā': 'having abandoned, casting aside', 'kirātarūpam': 'the form/guise of a Kirāta (hunter of the mountains)', 'bhagavān': 'the Blessed Lord

• a venerable epithet for a deity', 'tridāśa-īśvaraḥ': 'lord of the thirty (gods)

• i.e., ruler of the devas', 'svarūpam': 'one’s own true form', 'divyam': 'divine, radiant, celestial', 'āsthāya': 'having assumed, taking refuge in/entering into', 'tasthau': 'stood, remained', 'tatra': 'there, in that place', 'maheśvaraḥ': 'Mahā-īśvara

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Mahādeva (Śiva, Maheśvara)
• Kirāta (hunter guise)
• Devas (Tridaśa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The divine may appear in an ordinary or challenging guise to test sincerity, humility, and steadfastness; when the seeker’s resolve is proven, grace manifests as clear revelation and empowerment.

What is happening in the narrative?

After appearing as a Kirāta (hunter) and engaging in the preceding encounter, Śiva abandons that disguise and stands revealed in his radiant divine form before Arjuna.