Shloka 9
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
अजुन उवाच शृणु हन्त महाराज विधिना येन दृष्टवान् | शतक्रतुमहं देव॑ं भगवन्तं च शड्करम्
arjuna uvāca: śṛṇu hanta mahārāja vidhinā yena dṛṣṭavān | śatakratum ahaṃ devaṃ bhagavantaṃ ca śaṅkaram ||
Arjuna said: “Listen, O great king. I shall tell you, in due order, the method by which I obtained the vision of the god Indra, the lord of a hundred sacrifices, and of the Blessed Śaṅkara. Hear how, following the prescribed discipline and acting under your instruction, I set out for the forest to undertake austerities.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Divine attainment is presented as the fruit of disciplined practice (vidhi) and purposeful austerity (tapas), undertaken in alignment with dharma and under rightful guidance, rather than for personal display.
Arjuna begins recounting to the king the procedure and circumstances by which he gained audience of Indra and Śiva, introducing his forest-bound austerities as the means to secure divine support and higher capability.