Shloka 43

Kailāsa-darśana, Badarī-vāsa, and Sarasvatī–Dvaitavana Transition (कैलासदर्शन–बदरीवास–सरस्वतीद्वैतवनगमनम्)

Devanagari script

लेलिहानैर्महानागै: कृतचीरममित्रहन्‌ (भक्तानुकम्पिनं देवं नागयज्ञोपवीतिनम्‌ ।) विभीस्ततस्तदस्त्र॑ तु घोरं रौद्रं सनातनम्‌,शत्रुदमन नरेश! लपलपाती जीभवाले बड़े-बड़े नाग उन दिव्य पुरुषके लिये चीर (वस्त्र) बने हुए थे। भक्तोंपर अनुग्रह करनेवाले उन महादेवजीने सर्पोंका ही यज्ञोपवीत धारण कर रखा था। उनके दर्शनसे मेरा सारा भय जाता रहा। भरतश्रेष्ठ! फिर तो मैंने उस भयंकर एवं सनातन पाशुपतास्त्रको गाण्डीव धनुषपर संयोजित करके अमित तेजस्वी त्रिनेत्रधारी भगवान्‌ शंकरको नमस्कार किया और उन दाननवेन्द्रोंके विनाशके लिये उनपर चला दिया। उस अस्त्रके छूटते ही उससे सहस्रों रूप प्रकट हो गये

Transliteration

lelihānaiḥ mahānāgaiḥ kṛtacīram amitrahan (bhaktānukampinaṃ devaṃ nāgayajñopavītinam) vibhīḥ tataḥ tad astraṃ tu ghoraṃ raudraṃ sanātanam, śatrudamana nareśa!

Translation

Arjuna dijo: «¡Oh destructor de enemigos! Grandes serpientes, con lenguas centelleantes, eran las vestiduras mismas de aquel Señor divino; y, por compasión hacia los devotos, el Dios llevaba serpientes como su hilo sagrado. Al verlo, todo mi temor se desvaneció. Entonces, oh rey que domas a los adversarios, ajusté al arco Gāṇḍīva aquella arma terrible, nacida de Rudra y eterna: la Pāśupata; y, tras inclinarme ante el inmensamente radiante Señor Śaṅkara, de tres ojos, la solté para la destrucción de aquellos señores Dānavas. En el instante en que fue disparada, el arma manifestó miles de formas.»

Word by Word

लेलिहानैःwith licking (flickering) tongues

महानागैःwith great serpents

कृतचीरम्having cloth made (of them); whose garment is made

अमित्रहन्O slayer of foes

भक्तानुकम्पिनम्compassionate toward devotees

देवम्the god

नागयज्ञोपवीतिनम्wearing serpents as the sacred thread

विभीतःfrightened

ततःthen; from that (time)

तत्that

अस्त्रम्weapon; missile

तुbut; indeed

घोरम्terrible

रौद्रम्fierce; of Rudra

सनातनम्eternal; primeval

शत्रुदमनO tamer of enemies

नरेशO king

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Śiva (Mahādeva, Śaṅkara, Rudra, Paśupati, Trinetra)

Pāśupatāstra

Gāṇḍīva

Nāgas (serpents)

Dānavas (demon chiefs)

King (addressed as nareśa/śatrudamana; likely Yudhiṣṭhira in frame narrative)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights how devotion and direct encounter with the divine transform fear into steadiness. It also implies an ethical restraint: even the most terrible power (the Pāśupata weapon) is to be invoked only with reverence and for a righteous purpose, not from anger or vanity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna describes seeing Śiva in a terrifying yet protective form—serpents as garments and sacred thread. Reassured by the vision, he prepares and releases the Pāśupata weapon from the Gāṇḍīva, after bowing to Śiva, aiming it against powerful Dānava foes; the weapon manifests in countless forms as it is discharged.