Shloka 103
Arjuna’s Account of Tapas and the Kirāta Test; Revelation of Maheśvara and the Grant of the Pāśupata-Astra
तामिस्र॑ प्रथमं पक्षं वीतशोकभयो वस । नरेश्वर! अब पुनः तुम यहाँसे राजर्षि आर्डिषेणके आश्रमपर जाकर कृष्णपक्षभर शोक और भयसे रहित होकर रहो
tāmisraṃ prathamaṃ pakṣaṃ vītaśokabhayo vasa | nareśvara! adya punaḥ tvaṃ ihāto rājarṣi-ārdiṣeṇakasya āśramam upetya kṛṣṇapakṣaṃ bharaṃ śoka-bhaya-rahitaḥ san vasa ||
Dhanada berkata: “Wahai raja! Tinggallah terlebih dahulu sepanjang paruh gelap (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa) dengan bebas dari duka dan takut. Lalu, wahai penguasa manusia, berangkatlah dari sini ke pertapaan rajarṣi Ārdiṣeṇaka, dan menetaplah di sana selama seluruh paruh gelap itu, kembali tanpa kesedihan maupun gentar.”
धनद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes disciplined inner steadiness: one should deliberately cultivate freedom from grief and fear, and follow wise guidance by relocating to a conducive place (a hermitage) and observing time-bound practice through the lunar fortnight.
Dhanada addresses a king and instructs him on where and how long to stay: first to remain through a fortnight in a state free of sorrow and fear, and then to go to the hermitage of the royal sage Ārdiṣeṇaka and stay there through the dark fortnight, maintaining the same fearless composure.