Shloka 5
Arjuna’s Absence, Bhīma’s Kṣātra-Dharma Appeal, and Bṛhadaśva’s Arrival
Nala-Upākhyāna Begins
कैरातं वेषमास्थाय योधयामास फाल्गुनम् । जिज्ञासु: सर्वदेवेश: कपर्दी भगवान् स्वयम्,जटाजूटवधारी सर्वदिवेश्वर भगवान् शंकरने स्वयं ही अर्जुनके बलकी परीक्षा लेनेके लिये किरातवेष धारण करके उनके साथ युद्ध किया था
kirātaṁ veṣam āsthāya yodhayāmāsa phālgunam | jijñāsuḥ sarvadeveśaḥ kapardī bhagavān svayam ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Tomando el atuendo de un Kirāta (cazador de las montañas), el propio Señor—Śaṅkara, el de cabellera enmarañada y luna creciente, soberano de todos los dioses—combatió con Phālguna (Arjuna), deseoso de probar y conocer la medida de su fuerza. El episodio presenta la confrontación divina no como enemistad, sino como una prueba deliberada que refina la disciplina del guerrero y lo hace digno de auxilio superior.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Divine trials are meant to reveal and refine inner worth: a warrior’s strength must be joined with humility and self-control. The Lord tests Arjuna not to harm him but to confirm his readiness for higher weapons and grace, showing that power is ethically grounded in discipline and devotion.
Śiva, wishing to assess Arjuna, takes the form of a Kirāta hunter and engages him in combat. The encounter is a deliberate test of Arjuna’s prowess and steadiness, setting the stage for Arjuna’s recognition of the divine and the subsequent bestowal of divine favor.