Arjuna in Indraloka

After Arjuna received divine weapons from Bhagavān Śiva and the four lokapālas (guardians of the directions) on the Himālaya, Mātali came to take him to Indraloka, also called Svarga. Mātali was the charioteer of Indra. Arjuna stayed five years in Amarāvatī, Indra’s city. There he received more weapons from Indra, learned the arts of the gandharvas from Citrasena, and met the apsarā Urvaśī, whose śāpa (curse) Indra turned into a vara (a boon) for the year of hiding. The ṛshi Lomaśa also visited Indra’s assembly and was sent back with a message of comfort for Yudhishṭhira.

Mātali’s arrival

The lokapālas gave their weapons and left. Then Mātali, Indra’s divine charioteer, came to the Himālayan peak where Arjuna stood. He came in Indra’s own celestial chariot. It was drawn by the great Hari horses, and its flag bore the vaijayantī emblem. Mātali greeted Arjuna with respect and gave Indra’s invitation. Indra had seen Arjuna’s tapas (austerity) and his receiving of the Pāśupatāstra. He now wished Arjuna to come to Svarga to receive more weapons and teaching.

Before he left, Arjuna bathed in the mountain stream. He offered tarpaṇa (libations of water) to his ancestors and to the sacred waters of the Himālaya, and he took leave of the mountain that had seen his great tapas. Then he mounted the divine chariot.

The journey to Svarga

The chariot rose into the sky. As Arjuna rose through the levels of the atmosphere, he saw a remarkable sight. There were lights like stars in different regions of the sky. Mātali explained that these were the forms (tārā-rūpa) of the ātmās (souls) of righteous people. They had earned puṇya (merit) on earth through tapas, dāna (giving) and dharma, and now lived in these shining places in between.

As they came near Svarga, the great elephant Airāvata stood at the gate of Amarāvatī. The city shone with a light of its own, neither the sun’s nor the moon’s. It shone with the tapas gathered by all the devas and ṛshis who were there. Arjuna passed through the gate and entered Amarāvatī. He saw Nandanavana, Indra’s celestial garden of matchless beauty, before he was brought to Indra’s assembly.

Indra’s assembly

In Indra’s great assembly Arjuna paid his respects to Indra and was received with great honour. Indra seated Arjuna at his side, on half of his throne. He promised Arjuna all the weapons that the lokapālas and Śiva had not already given. But he said that first Arjuna must learn the celestial arts: music, dance and the sciences of the gandharvas. Indra wanted him to be a complete man, not only a warrior.

Citrasena’s teaching

Indra sent the gandharva Citrasena to be Arjuna’s companion and teacher. Citrasena became Arjuna’s close friend. He taught Arjuna gandharva music, including celestial instruments and compositions, and dance, and the various kinds of knowledge of Svarga. Arjuna learned well. His mind was already trained and purified by tapas, and it took in these arts with ease. Over the years that Arjuna lived in Svarga, their friendship became warm and true.

Urvaśī and the śāpa

At one gathering in Svarga, Indra noticed how Arjuna looked at the apsarā Urvaśī with open admiration. Indra decided to arrange a meeting, knowing it would help Arjuna in a quiet way. He called Citrasena and asked him to take a message to Urvaśī. Citrasena was to describe Arjuna’s virtues: his beauty, his valour, his strength of tapas (tapo-bala) and his skills. He was to say that Indra wished her to go to Arjuna.

Urvaśī agreed. At night she went to Arjuna’s chamber and stood before him in her full celestial beauty. She told him of her attraction to him and her willingness to be with him.

Arjuna was overwhelmed, but not by desire. He closed his eyes, bowed his head, covered his ears and folded his hands. He said: “Urvaśī, you are the ancestress of my whole line. The Paurava line goes back to Purūravas, and you were the beloved of Purūravas. So you stand to me in the place of a pitāmahī (grandmother). I can only see you as a gurumātā (a mother who is a guru). Please leave, and do not ask this of me.”

Urvaśī was stung. She was an apsarā, one of those born to give joy, whose giving of that joy was their dharma. Her pride had been refused. She flared with anger and spoke a śāpa: “You have refused me and called me ‘mother’. So you will live among women as a napuṃsaka (neither male nor female). You will be a dancer and entertainer of women, looked down on by men, for one year.”

Arjuna accepted the śāpa quietly and went to Indra. Indra was not troubled. He smiled and said: “My son, do you not see? This is not a śāpa. It is a vara in disguise. When your thirteen years of exile are complete, the one year of ajñātavāsa (living unknown) begins, and you must live completely hidden. What better disguise than exactly what Urvaśī has said? For one year you will live as a dancer and musician among women, and no one will know the great Arjuna. The śāpa will do its work and then lift. You have really been given a great gift.” Arjuna’s heart was relieved.

Lomaśa’s visit

While Arjuna was in Svarga, the great ṛshi Lomaśa came to Indra’s assembly to pay his respects to Indra. He saw Arjuna sitting on half of Indra’s throne, sharing the seat of the king of the devas, and he was astonished at this honour. He wondered: “Who is this mortal who sits at Indra’s level?”

Indra explained to Lomaśa: “This is Arjuna. But know that he is Nara, the ancient companion of Nārāyaṇa from before creation. These two, Nara and Nārāyaṇa, are not only great men. They are aspects of the divine itself, born again to restore dharma. Do not wonder at the honour I give Arjuna.”

Indra then asked Lomaśa to take a message to Yudhishṭhira: “Tell Yudhishṭhira not to grieve for Arjuna. He is safe, he has obtained all the weapons he needed, and he will return. Tell him to go on tīrtha-yātrā (a journey to holy places) in the meantime, which will bring great puṇya. And tell him of the Nīvātakavacas, a class of dānavas who live in Pātāla and are enemies of the devas. Arjuna will destroy them on his way back.”

Lomaśa went back to earth and gave this message faithfully. His coming to the Pāṇḍava camp in the forest, and Indra’s words through him, brought great comfort to Yudhishṭhira and his brothers.

The Nīvātakavacas

One of Arjuna’s tasks in Svarga was to destroy the Nīvātakavacas. They were a class of powerful dānavas who lived in Pātāla (the nether worlds) and wore impenetrable celestial armour. The name nīvāta-kavaca is given as meaning “covered in indestructible armour”. They were enemies of Indra. They had received great varas that made them almost invincible against the devas. Arjuna took the Pāśupatāstra and other divine weapons and went down to Pātāla in Mātali’s chariot. He destroyed the Nīvātakavacas in battle. He did what the devas themselves had not been able to do.

Arjuna’s return

After five years in Svarga, Arjuna had received all the weapons Indra had promised. He had mastered the celestial arts through Citrasena’s teaching, and he had done what was needed in the nether worlds. Indra sent him back to earth in Mātali’s chariot. Arjuna returned to Yudhishṭhira and his brothers. Five years in Svarga had changed him. He carried the Pāśupatāstra, the weapons of the four lokapālas, and Indra’s own celestial gifts.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 41–50