Shloka 18
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
पज्चमे त्वथ सम्प्राप्ते प्रथमे दिवसे गते । वराहसंस्थितं भूतं मत्समीपं समागमत्,पाँचवाँ महीना प्रारम्भ होनेपर जब एक दिन बीत गया तब दूसरे दिन एक शूकररूपधारी जीव मेरे निकट आया
pañcame tv atha samprāpte prathame divase gate | varāha-saṃsthitaṃ bhūtaṃ mat-samīpaṃ samāgamat ||
Arjuna nói: “Khi tháng thứ năm đến, ngày đầu đã qua, thì sang ngày kế tiếp, một sinh linh mang hình dạng lợn rừng tiến lại gần ta.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights discernment and readiness: in the wilderness, events and beings may appear in deceptive forms, and a dharmic hero must stay alert, assess rightly, and act in accordance with duty rather than impulse.
Arjuna narrates a time marker—after the fifth month begins and one day passes, on the following day a mysterious being, taking the form of a boar, comes close to him, setting up an impending encounter or test.