Shloka 1
Śiva Grants the Pāśupata Astra (Pāśupata-Śastra Upadeśa) | शिवेन पाशुपतास्त्रदानम्
हि न () है >> >> एकचत्वारिशो< ध्याय: अर्जुनके पास दिक्पालोंका आगमन एवं उन्हें दिव्यास्त्र- प्रदान तथा इन्द्रका उन्हें स्वर्गमें चलनेका आदेश देना वैशम्पायन उवाच तस्य सम्पश्यतस्त्वेव पिनाकी वृषभध्वज: । जगामादर्शन॑ भानुलोंकस्येवास्तमीयिवान्,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! अर्जुनके देखते-देखते पिनाकधारी भगवान् वृषभध्वज अदृश्य हो गये, मानो भुवनभास्कर भगवान् सूर्य अस्त हो गये हों
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: tasya sampaśyatas tv eva pinākī vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ | jagāmādarśanaṁ bhānulokasyevāstam īyivān ||
Vaiśampāyana said: While Arjuna was still watching, the Pināka-bearing Lord, whose banner bears the bull, vanished from sight—like the radiant sun sinking into the western horizon. The moment underscores the divine’s freedom to appear and withdraw at will, leaving the hero to proceed with steadiness and reverence rather than attachment to the vision itself.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Divine encounters are gifts, not possessions: the deity may appear and withdraw, and the seeker’s dharma is to remain steady—continuing disciplined action with reverence and non-attachment to extraordinary experiences.
After being seen by Arjuna, Śiva—identified by the epithets ‘Pināka-bearer’ and ‘bull-bannered’—suddenly becomes invisible, compared poetically to the sun setting, marking a transition to the next phase of Arjuna’s divinely guided quest.