Shloka 32
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्या भारत कर्णपर्वमें शल्यका साराथिकर्मीविषयक बत्तीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
tapa ugraṃ samāsthāya niyame parame sthitāḥ | mahātā tapasā siddhāḥ surāṇāṃ bhayavardhanāḥ | na teṣām abhavad rājan kṣayo yuddhe kadācana ||
Sanjaya sprach: „Nachdem sie grimmige Askese (tapas) auf sich genommen und fest in den höchsten Disziplinen der Selbstbeherrschung verharrt hatten, erlangten sie durch große Buße Vollendung und wurden den Göttern zu einer Quelle wachsenden Schreckens. O König, im Kampf trat ihre Vernichtung niemals, zu keiner Zeit, ein.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that disciplined austerity (tapas with niyama) can generate extraordinary power, but ethical orientation matters: when such power is used with hostility, it destabilizes the rightful order and becomes a cause of fear rather than welfare.
After being defeated, the Daitya lineage—especially Tārakāsura’s sons—undertakes intense austerities and strict observances, gains siddhi (effective power), and becomes so formidable that they are not easily destroyed in battle, thereby alarming the gods.