Shloka 46
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
ततस्तदू धनुरादाय तूणौ चाक्षय्यसायकौ । प्रादान्ममैव भगवान् धारयस्वेति चाब्रवीत्
tatas tadū dhanur ādāya tūṇau cākṣayyasāyakau | prādān mamaiva bhagavān dhārayasveti cābravīt | amaratvam apahāya brūhi yat te manogatam |
随后，圣尊（湿婆）取起那张弓与两只装满无尽箭矢的箭囊，交还于我，并说道：“持之。”他又说：“焚敌者啊，我已悦纳于你。说吧——你有何事要我成就？勇士，凡你心中所愿，尽可告我；我必为你圆满——唯独不赐不死。”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Divine favor follows disciplined effort and sincerity, yet even divine boons are bounded by cosmic order: immortality is withheld, underscoring that dharma operates within limits and that a seeker should ask for purposeful, righteous aims rather than absolute escape from mortality.
After testing and then being satisfied with Arjuna, Śiva reveals his favor by returning/gifting Arjuna’s bow and granting him two quivers with inexhaustible arrows, inviting Arjuna to state a wish—explicitly excluding the request for immortality.