Arjuna Meets Indra Disguised as an Ascetic
Arjuna reaches Indrakila mountain and is stopped by a voice from the sky. He finds an ascetic seated under a tree who tells him to throw down his bow — weapons have no use here. Arjuna refuses to abandon his resolution. The ascetic smiles and reveals himself as Shakra.
Arjuna traveled swiftly, resorting to yoga so as to be united with Indra. He was as fast as thought and like the wind. In a single day, the great-souled one crossed the Himalayas and Gandhamadana, traversing inaccessible terrain unwearied through night and day, until he reached the sacred mountain Indrakila.
There he stopped. A voice from the sky told him to halt.
Then Savyasachi — Arjuna, the left-handed archer — saw an ascetic seated under a tree. The man was thin and yellow, his hair matted, and he blazed with the radiance of the brahman.
Seeing that Arjuna had stopped, the great ascetic spoke. "O son! Who are you? You have come here clad in armour, with bow and arrows, girded with a sword and wearing leather gloves. You are following the dharma of kshatriyas. But there is no use for weapons here. This is a peaceful region populated by ascetic brahmanas who have controlled anger and delight. The bow has no use here, nor is there any fighting. Therefore, throw down your bow. You have reached your supreme objective."
The brahmana spoke these words repeatedly to Arjuna, as if he were an ordinary man. But Arjuna was so firm that the ascetic could not dislodge him from his resolution.
Then the brahmana was extremely pleased. Smiling, he told Arjuna, "O fortunate one! O destroyer of enemies! I am Shakra. Choose a boon."
Arjuna, the brave extender of the Kuru lineage, joined his hands in salutation and bowed. "O illustrious one! This is the object of my desire. Please grant it to me as a boon. I wish to obtain from you today the knowledge of all weapons."
The great Indra was extremely pleased and smiled. "O Dhananjaya! You have attained this place. What use will weapons be to you? Ask for desires and worlds. You have attained the supreme objective."
Arjuna replied, "I do not wish for worlds, desires or divinity, not to speak of happiness. O lord of the thirty gods! I do not wish for lordship over the gods. If I forsake my brothers in the wilderness and do not avenge the enmity, I will attain infamy in all the worlds for an eternity."
The slayer of Vritra, worshipped in all the worlds, spoke consoling words to Pandu's son. "O son! When you have seen the lord of all beings, the three-eyed Shiva who wields the trident, I will then give you all the divine weapons. O Kounteya! Act so that you are able to see the supreme god. When you have seen him, you will be successful and will go to heaven."
Having spoken thus to Phalguna, Shakra disappeared. Resorting to yoga, Arjuna remained there. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 335