Shloka 43

Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness

Nivātakavaca engagement

Devanagari script

हित्वा किरातरूपं च भगवांस्त्रिदशे श्वर: । स्वरूपं दिव्यमास्थाय तस्थौ तत्र महेश्वर:

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca | hitvā kirātarūpaṃ ca bhagavāṃs tridāśeśvaraḥ | svarūpaṃ divyam āsthāya tasthau tatra maheśvaraḥ ||

Translation

阿周那说道：“于是那位圣尊——诸天之主——抛却吉罗多（山中猎者）的伪装，复归自身光耀的神圣真形。摩诃提婆便在彼处显现而立。”叙事借此强调：神祇或以卑微、试炼之相来考验求道者的志节；当坚忍与至诚得以证明，神圣临在便会公开显露，印证虔敬与持戒精进具有道德上的化育之力。

Word by Word

• {'arjuna uvāca': 'Arjuna said', 'hitvā': 'having abandoned, casting aside', 'kirātarūpam': 'the form/guise of a Kirāta (hunter of the mountains)', 'bhagavān': 'the Blessed Lord

• a venerable epithet for a deity', 'tridāśa-īśvaraḥ': 'lord of the thirty (gods)

• i.e., ruler of the devas', 'svarūpam': 'one’s own true form', 'divyam': 'divine, radiant, celestial', 'āsthāya': 'having assumed, taking refuge in/entering into', 'tasthau': 'stood, remained', 'tatra': 'there, in that place', 'maheśvaraḥ': 'Mahā-īśvara

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Mahādeva (Śiva, Maheśvara)
• Kirāta (hunter guise)
• Devas (Tridaśa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The divine may appear in an ordinary or challenging guise to test sincerity, humility, and steadfastness; when the seeker’s resolve is proven, grace manifests as clear revelation and empowerment.

What is happening in the narrative?

After appearing as a Kirāta (hunter) and engaging in the preceding encounter, Śiva abandons that disguise and stands revealed in his radiant divine form before Arjuna.