Shloka 27
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
तारकाक्षसुतो वीरो हरिनाम महाबल:
tārakākṣasuto vīro harināma mahābalaḥ | tapa ugraṃ samāsthāya niyame parame sthitāḥ ||
Duryodhana sprach: „Wir haben vernommen, dass damals die Götter die Daityas besiegten. Als die Daityas überwunden waren, nahmen die drei Söhne des Tārakāsura—Tārakākṣa, Kamalākṣa und Vidyunmālī—Zuflucht zu grimmiger Askese und hielten unbeirrt die höchsten Gelübde. So suchten sie selbst nach der Niederlage Macht und Sinn durch strenge Selbstzucht, statt sich der Verzweiflung zu ergeben.“
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a recurring epic motif: defeat does not end striving; disciplined effort (tapas and niyama) can be used to rebuild strength and influence. Ethically, it shows how the same tools of self-control may serve either constructive aims or renewed ambition, depending on intention.
Duryodhana recalls an earlier mythic episode: after the Devas defeated the Daityas, Tārakāsura’s three sons undertook intense austerities and strict observances, implying a strategic turn from battlefield loss to ascetic power-gathering.