Shloka 51
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
रौद्रमस्त्रं मदीयं त्वामुपस्थास्यति पाण्डव । प्रददौ च मम प्रीत: सो<स्त्रं पाशुपतं महत्
arjunа uvāca | raudram astraṁ madīyaṁ tvām upasthāsyati pāṇḍava | pradadau ca mama prītaḥ so 'straṁ pāśupataṁ mahat ||
The Lord said: “O Pāṇḍava, my Raudra weapon will come into your possession.” Saying this, the Lord—Pāśupati—pleased with me, bestowed upon me his great Pāśupata weapon.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Extraordinary power is portrayed as a sacred trust: it is granted through divine approval and disciplined conduct, and it must be governed by restraint and dharmic purpose rather than personal anger or ambition.
Arjuna recounts that Pāśupati (Śiva), pleased with him, declares that the Raudra weapon will come to him and then bestows the great Pāśupata Astra—marking Arjuna’s acquisition of a supreme divine weapon.