Shloka 1
Chapter 40: Śiva in Kirāta Disguise Tests Arjuna
Mūka-vadha and the Contest
हि >> न (0) है चत्वारिशो< ध्याय: भगवान् शंकरका अर्जुनको वरदान देकर अपने धामको प्रस्थान देवदेव उवाच नरस्त्वं पूर्वदेहे वै नारायणसहायवान् । बदर्या तप्तवानुग्र॑ं तपो वर्षायुतान् बहूनू,देवदेव महादेवजी बोले--अर्जुन! तुम पूर्व-शरीरमें “नर' नामक सुप्रसिद्ध ऋषि थे। नारायण तुम्हारे सखा हैं। तुमने बदरिकाश्रममें अनेक सहस्र वर्षोतक उग्र तपस्या की है
devadeva uvāca | naras tvaṁ pūrvadehe vai nārāyaṇa-sahāyavān | badaryā taptavān ugraṁ tapo varṣāyutān bahūn ||
Devadeva (Mahādeva) said: “Arjuna, in a former embodiment you were the renowned sage Nara, and Nārāyaṇa was your companion and support. In Badarī you performed fierce austerities for many tens of thousands of years.” The statement frames Arjuna’s present prowess and spiritual eligibility as rooted in earlier disciplined tapas and divine partnership, implying that power is ethically grounded in long self-restraint and alignment with the divine.
देवदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
True strength and divine favor are portrayed as the fruit of sustained tapas and righteous alignment: Arjuna’s present capacity is grounded in a prior life of intense discipline as Nara, supported by Nārāyaṇa.
Śiva addresses Arjuna and reveals his former identity as the sage Nara, paired with Nārāyaṇa, recalling their long austerities at Badarī—thereby legitimizing Arjuna’s spiritual stature and the boon-context of the episode.