Shloka 21
Chapter 40: Śiva in Kirāta Disguise Tests Arjuna
Mūka-vadha and the Contest
उपतस्थे च तत् पार्थ यथा तरयक्षमुमापतिम् । प्रतिजग्राह तच्चापि प्रीतिमानर्जुनस्तदा,तब भगवान् शिवने रहस्य और उपसंहारसहित पाशुपतास्त्रका उन्हें उपदेश दिया। उस समय वह अस्त्र जैसे पहले त्रिनेत्रधारी उमापति शिवकी सेवामें उपस्थित हुआ था, उसी प्रकार मूर्तिमान् यमराजतुल्य पाण्डवश्रेष्ठ अर्जुनके पास आ गया। तब अर्जुनने बहुत प्रसन्न होकर उसे ग्रहण किया
upatasthe ca tat pārtha yathā trayakṣam umāpatim | pratijagrāha tac cāpi prītimān arjunas tadā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: That Pāśupata weapon came to Arjuna, O Pārtha, in the same manner as it had once stood in attendance upon the three-eyed Lord, Umāpati (Śiva). Having received from Śiva the secret instruction and the concluding rite that completes the transmission of the Pāśupata, Arjuna accepted it then, filled with joy and reverence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that extraordinary power (like the Pāśupata) must be received through worthiness—devotion, discipline, and proper initiation—so that it is held with reverence and used responsibly rather than for ego or indiscriminate violence.
After Śiva has instructed Arjuna in the secret knowledge and the concluding rite of the Pāśupata, the weapon is described as arriving to Arjuna in the same reverential manner it once attended Śiva himself; Arjuna, delighted and respectful, formally accepts it.