Kirata: The Hunter God

Shiva tests Arjuna in disguise

When a wild boar attacks during Arjuna's meditation, both he and a mysterious tribal hunter shoot it simultaneously, and a dispute over the kill becomes a battle between mortal and god. What follows is one of the most celebrated episodes in Sanskrit literature: the revelation that true tests come disguised, and that even defeat can be victory.

The Dispute Over a Kill

The boar lay dead on the mountain slope, two arrows protruding from its massive body. One arrow was Arjuna's: he knew his own fletching. But the other belonged to a stranger.

Arjuna approached the hunter who had appeared from nowhere. This was no ordinary mountain man. Though dressed in animal skins and carrying crude weapons, he moved with the grace of a trained warrior. The woman beside him, also in tribal garb, watched with an expression of barely concealed amusement.

"That boar was a demon," Arjuna said. "It charged to kill me. I shot in self-defense."

"And I shot because it is my forest," the hunter replied. "My hunt. My kill."

"Your forest?" Arjuna's hand moved toward Gandiva. "These mountains belong to no man."

The hunter's eyes gleamed. "They belong to whoever is strong enough to claim them. Are you strong enough, archer?"

A Battle of Pride

What began as an argument escalated with terrifying speed. Arjuna, his temper frayed by months of austerity, saw this as a challenge to everything he had sacrificed for.

"I am Arjuna, son of Indra, student of Drona, foremost archer of the age. I have come here seeking weapons from the gods. And you, whoever you are, will not take what I have killed."

The hunter laughed: a sound that echoed strangely off the rocks. "Then take it back, son of Indra. If you can."

Arjuna unleashed a shower of arrows. He had never moved faster, never aimed more precisely. Any other opponent would have been riddled.

The hunter caught some arrows from the air. Others passed through him as if he weren't there. Still others shattered against an invisible barrier.

And then the hunter struck back.

The Unwinnable Fight

This was combat unlike any Arjuna had experienced: