Nara

After a fierce battle in which Shiva, disguised as a hunter, wrestles Arjuna to a standstill, the god reveals himself. Pleased with Arjuna's penance and courage, Shiva offers him any boon. Arjuna asks for the Pashupata weapon — the Brahmashira — the divine missile that can destroy the universe, intending to use it against Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, and Karna.

Shiva disappears from the Himalayan peak, and Arjuna is still reeling from having seen the god face to face — when the sky lights up and four more gods arrive. Yama, Varuna, Kubera, and Indra have come to reveal who Arjuna really is, what he is meant to do, and to arm him for the war that awaits.

Maharshi Lomasha travels to Indra's abode and sees Arjuna seated on half of Indra's throne. The sight puzzles him — how could a kshatriya, a mere warrior, attain such honor? Indra divines his thoughts and reveals the truth: Arjuna is Nara, the ancient rishi, and together with Narayana — Krishna — he has been born on earth to remove its burden and defeat the Nivatakavachas, asuras so powerful that even the gods cannot fight them.

The valorous one's lake shines nearby, noisy with birds. The speaker advises Yudhishthira to offer oblations there with his brothers, then visit Sikataksha, the Saindhava forest, the pushkaras, and the three sacred peaks and springs on Mount Archika — where Shantanu, Shunaka, Nara, and Narayana obtained eternal regions.

The Pandavas descend from the rakshasas' shoulders and see the hermitage of Nara and Narayana — a place untouched by sunlight yet free of darkness, where hunger, thirst, cold, and heat do not exist. Yudhishthira approaches the maharshis with restraint and purity, and is welcomed with water, flowers, roots, and fruit. The Pandavas enter and dwell there, making offerings to gods and ancestors, and take great pleasure in watching Draupadi sport in that sacred place.