Shiva

The smoke from Arjuna's terrible austerities spreads in all directions, disturbing the maharshis who dwell in the Himalayas. They go to Shiva, prostrate before him, and ask him to restrain the ascetic who is tormenting them. Shiva tells them he knows what Arjuna intends — and that he will accomplish everything the warrior wishes for.

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.

King Sagara, powerful but sonless, retreats to Mount Kailasa with his two wives and performs austerities so severe that Shiva himself appears before them. The god grants a boon — but the terms are strange, and the cost is hidden in plain sight.

While the Pandavas are thinking of Arjuna, Indra's chariot driven by Matali suddenly appears in the sky, carrying Arjuna. He descends, pays respects to Dhoumya, Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Draupadi, is worshipped by Nakula and Sahadeva, and the Pandavas honor Matali before he departs. Arjuna presents the gifts from Indra, recounts his acquisition of weapons from Indra, Vayu, and Shiva, and his entry into heaven, then happily goes to sleep with his brothers.

After months of solitary penance on a mountain, Arjuna shoots a boar — only for a kirata (hunter) to claim the same kill. What begins as a dispute over prey escalates into a battle where Arjuna unleashes divine weapon after divine weapon, and the kirata devours them all. Then they wrestle, and the hunter pins him to the ground.

Markandeya, pulled from the mouth of the cosmic being, hears Narayana declare his true nature: he is Vishnu, Brahma, Shakra, Yama, Shiva — all gods in one. He is the creator and destroyer, the one who sleeps through the ages and wakes to recreate the universe.

Five sages perform terrible austerities for many years, seeking a son equal to Brahma. From their combined power, a five-colored fire named Panchajanya is born — and then proceeds to perform his own austerities for ten thousand years, creating gods, ancestors, and the entire cosmic order of sacrificial fire.