Shloka 30
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
येन रूपेण दैत्यस्तु येन वेषेण चैव ह
yena rūpeṇa daityas tu yena veṣeṇa caiva ha, tapa ugraṃ samāsthāya niyame parame sthitāḥ |
Duryodhana sprach: „In welcher Gestalt und in welcher Verkleidung die Daityas einst auch standen—so haben wir es gehört—als die Götter sie überwanden, nahmen die drei Söhne des Tārakāsura, nämlich Tārakākṣa, Kamalākṣa und Vidyunmālī, Zuflucht zu grimmiger Askese und blieben standhaft in den höchsten Zuchtregeln der Selbstbeherrschung.“
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights tapas and niyama as potent means of regaining strength and status after defeat. Ethically, it shows how disciplined practice can be directed toward different ends—self-mastery can serve either righteous aims or ambitious, even destructive, ambitions depending on intention.
Duryodhana recalls a traditional account: after the gods defeated the Daityas, Tārakāsura’s three sons—Tārakākṣa, Kamalākṣa, and Vidyunmālī—undertook intense austerities and strict observances, implying a strategic turn to ascetic power following military loss.