SB 3.1.38 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कच्चिद्यशोधा रथयूथपानां गाण्डीवधन्वोपरतारिरास्ते । अलक्षितो यच्छरकूटगूढो मायाकिरातो गिरिशस्तुतोष ॥ ३८ ॥

Verse text

kaccid yaśodhā ratha-yūthapānāṁ gāṇḍīva-dhanvoparatārir āste alakṣito yac-chara-kūṭa-gūḍho māyā-kirāto giriśas tutoṣa

Synonyms

kaccit — whether ; yaśaḥ — dhā — famous ; ratha — yūthapānām — amongst the great chariot warriors ; gāṇḍīva — Gāṇḍīva ; dhanvā — bow ; uparata — ariḥ — one who has vanquished the enemies ; āste — doing well ; alakṣitaḥ — without being identified ; yat — whose ; śara — kūṭa — gūḍhaḥ — being covered by arrows ; māyā — kirātaḥ — false hunter ; giriśaḥ — Lord Śiva ; tutoṣa — was satisfied .

Translation

[Please tell me] whether Arjuna, whose bow bears the name Gāṇḍīva and who is always famous amongst the chariot warriors for vanquishing his enemies, is doing well. He once satisfied Lord Śiva by covering him with arrows when Śiva came as an unidentified false hunter.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

How is Arjuna, famous among greatest of warriors, destroyer of enemies with his Gāṇḍiva bow, who satisfied Śiva, disguised as a hunter, after Śiva was covered with Arjuna’s multitude of arrows? Arjuna was famous (yaśodhā) among the best of the chariot fighters. He was the destroyer of the enemy (uparatāriḥ). Śiva was covered (gūḍhaḥ) with a mass of arrows.

Purport

Lord Śiva tested Arjuna’s strength by picking a quarrel with him over a hunted boar. He confronted Arjuna in the false dress of a hunter, and Arjuna covered him with arrows until Lord Śiva was satisfied with Arjuna’s fighting. He offered Arjuna the Pāśupati weapon and blessed him. Here Vidura inquired about the great warrior’s well-being.