Shloka 33
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
स्थूणाकर्णमथो जालं शरवर्षमथोल्बणम् | शलभास्त्रमश्मवर्ष समास्थायाहमभ्ययाम्,स्थूणाकर्ण5, वारुणास्त्र-, भयंकर शरवर्षास्त्रर, शलभास्त्र5<४ तथा अभ्मवर्ष४ इन अस्त्रोंका सहारा ले मैं उस किरातपर टूट पड़ा
sthūṇākarṇam atho jālaṁ śaravarṣam atholbaṇam | śalabhāstram aśmavarṣaṁ samāsthāyāham abhyayām ||
Arjuna berkata: “Dengan bersandar pada aśtra bernama Sthūṇākarṇa, Jāla, hujan panah yang mengerikan, Śalabhāstra, dan hujan batu, aku menerjang lurus ke arah Kirāta itu.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a great warrior’s prowess is ultimately tested by a higher order of dharma: steadfast effort must be joined with humility, because the encounter is not merely combat but a divinely-structured trial of character and readiness.
Arjuna describes how he employed multiple astras—net-like restraint, arrow-showers, and stone-rain type weapons—and then charged at the Kirāta (hunter), intensifying the duel that culminates in recognizing the hunter’s divine nature.