Shloka 16
Chapter 40: Śiva in Kirāta Disguise Tests Arjuna
Mūka-vadha and the Contest
नैतद् वेद महेन्द्रोडपि न यमो न च यक्षराट् वरुणो5प्यथवा वायु: कुतो वेत्स्यन्ति मानवा:,इसे देवराज इन्द्र, यम, यक्षराज कुबेर, वरुण अथवा वायुदेवता भी नहीं जानते। फिर साधारण मानव तो जान ही कैसे सकेंगे?
naitad veda mahendro 'pi na yamo na ca yakṣarāṭ | varuṇo 'py athavā vāyuḥ kuto vetsyanti mānavāḥ ||
Bhava said: “Not even Mahendra (Indra) knows this—nor Yama, nor the lord of the Yakṣas (Kubera), nor Varuṇa, nor even Vāyu. How, then, could ordinary human beings possibly know it?”
भव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses epistemic humility: certain truths are so subtle or transcendent that even great deities are said not to grasp them fully; therefore humans should be cautious about claiming certainty and should rely on dharma, discipline, and proper guidance rather than pride in knowledge.
Bhava is emphasizing the extraordinary nature of the subject under discussion by listing major gods—Indra, Yama, Kubera, Varuṇa, and Vāyu—and declaring that even they do not know it; this rhetorical escalation underscores the speaker’s point and frames the matter as beyond ordinary human comprehension.