03.041
Pancharatra: Girisha grants Arjuna the weapon known as Pashupata, also called brahmashira.
The Blessed One said.
In your previous birth, you were a man who, with Nārāyaṇa as your companion, performed severe austerities in Badarī for many tens of thousands of years. (3-41-1)
Whether in you or in Viṣṇu, the supreme person, it is by the splendor of you both, the foremost among men, that the world is sustained. (3-41-2)
O lord, at the anointing of Indra, you and Kṛṣṇa, having taken up the mighty bow that sounded like a thundercloud, destroyed the Dānavas. (3-41-3)
This is indeed your Gandiva, O Partha, restored as it should be. By resorting to illusion, it was seized by me, O best of men. The quivers and the inexhaustible bow are again yours, O Partha, as is proper. (3-41-4)
O son of Pṛthā, truly valorous, I am indeed affectionate towards you; O bull among men, accept from me the boon you desire. (3-41-5)
O giver of honor, among mortals there is no man equal to you; nor is there, even in heaven, a kṣatriya with you as chief, O destroyer of enemies. (3-41-6)
Arjuna said.
O Lord, if you are pleased to grant me a boon with affection, O bull-bannered one, I desire that divine and terrible Pāśupata weapon, O master. (3-41-7)
That which is called the Brahmaśiras, terrible and of fearful prowess, destroys the entire world when the fierce end of the age arrives. (3-41-8)
By which I may burn in battle the Dānavas, Rākṣasas, beings, Piśācas, Gandharvas, and serpents. (3-41-9)
From him, thousands of spears, maces of fierce appearance, and arrows shaped like venomous serpents arise, all empowered by mantras. (3-41-10)
I would fight with anyone by whom Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, and the son of the charioteer, who always speaks harshly in battle, are present. (3-41-11)
O Lord, destroyer of Bhaga's eye, this is my first desire: by your grace, may I be fulfilled and capable as I wish. (3-41-12)
The Blessed Lord said.
O Pāṇḍava, I give you the beloved great Pāśupata weapon, which is capable of being held, released, and withdrawn.
Even the great Indra does not know this, nor Yama, nor the king of the Yakṣas; neither Varuṇa nor Vāyu—so how could humans possibly know? (3-41-14)
But, O Pārtha, this should never be spoken suddenly to any person; for if it is imparted to one of little energy, the entire world, having fallen, might be completely destroyed. (3-41-15)
He is indeed not to be slain; in the three worlds, among all moving and unmoving beings, he cannot be struck down by mind, by eye, by speech, or by bow. (3-41-16)
Vaiśampāyana said.
Having heard that, the quick Pārtha (Arjuna), after purifying himself and collecting his mind, approached the Lord of the universe and said, "Recite." (3-41-17)
Then he taught you the secret of withdrawal; that missile, O best of the Pāṇḍavas, was embodied like the destroyer. (3-41-18)
He approached the great-souled one as one would approach the three-eyed lord, Umā's consort. Arjuna, full of joy, then received that as well. (3-41-19)
Then the earth, along with its mountains, forests, and trees, together with its oceans, forest regions, villages, and cities, shook. (3-41-20)
At that very moment, the sounds of conches, drums, and thousands of kettledrums arose, and a great thunderclap occurred. (3-41-21)
Then the gods and demons saw the blazing, terrible missile of the Pāṇḍava of immeasurable energy, embodied and standing at his side. (3-41-22)
Whatever inauspiciousness was present in the body of Phalguna of immeasurable energy, touched by Tryambaka, all of that was destroyed. (3-41-23)
Having been permitted by Tryambaka with the words "Go to heaven," then Arjuna, Pārtha, having bowed his head and with joined palms, looked at the god. (3-41-24)
Then the lord Śiva, the great-minded controller of the residents of heaven, lord of the mountains and husband of Umā, gave the great bow Gāṇḍīva, the destroyer of demons and spirits, to the best of men. (3-41-25)
Then the lord, together with Umā, left the auspicious excellent mountain with its white-banked peaks and caves, which was frequented by birds and great sages, and ascended into the sky as the best of men looked on. (3-41-26)
