Shloka 57
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
प्रेक्षतश्नैेव मे देवस्तत्रैवान्तरधीयत
prekṣataḥ śanaiḥ eva me devaḥ tatra eva antaradhīyata | sa śatrūṇāṃ saṃhārakaḥ vipakṣīyāṇāṃ senāyāḥ vidhvaṃsakaḥ | tasya prāptiḥ bahu kaṭhinā | devatā dānavāḥ rākṣasāś ca kasya api tasya vegaṃ soḍhum atyantaṃ kaṭhinam | punaḥ bhagavataḥ śivasya ājñayā ahaṃ tatra eva upaviśya tiṣṭhāmi sma, te ca mama paśyataḥ paśyataḥ antarhitāḥ abhavan ||
Arjuna dit : «Tandis que je le regardais encore, l’être divin s’évanouit peu à peu, là même. Il est le pourfendeur des ennemis et le destructeur des armées adverses. L’atteindre est d’une difficulté extrême ; même les dieux, les Dānavas et les Rākṣasas trouvent presque impossible de soutenir l’élan de sa puissance. Puis, obéissant à l’ordre du Seigneur Śiva, je demeurai assis en ce lieu, et sous mes yeux il disparut.»
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes disciplined obedience and humility before divine instruction: even a mighty hero acknowledges that divine power is difficult to attain and unbearable to many beings, and he responds by following Śiva’s command without resistance.
Arjuna narrates that a divine figure—described as a destroyer of enemies and armies—gradually disappears before his eyes. After receiving Śiva’s instruction, Arjuna remains seated there, and the being vanishes from sight.