Mahabharata — Karna Parva, Shloka 34
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
विद्राव्य सगणानू् देवांस्तत्र तत्र तदा तदा । विचेरु: स्वेन कामेन वरदानेन दर्पिता:
vidrāvya sagaṇān devāṁs tatra tatra tadā tadā | viceruḥ svena kāmena varadānena darpitāḥ | tapa ugraṁ samāsthāya niyame parame sthitāḥ |
Duryodhana sprach: „Wir haben vernommen, dass damals die Götter die Daityas in die Flucht schlugen. Nach ihrer Niederlage nahmen Tārakāsuras drei Söhne—Tārākṣa, Kamalākṣa und Vidyunmālī—Zuflucht zu grimmiger Askese und blieben standhaft in den höchsten Gelübden und Zuchtregeln. Von den erlangten Gnadengaben aufgebläht, vertrieben sie die Götter samt ihren Gefolgschaften von Ort zu Ort und streiften dann umher, wohin es ihnen beliebte.“
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity and discipline can yield power (boons), but when joined with pride (darpa) they become instruments of oppression. The verse highlights an ethical warning: spiritual attainments without humility and restraint tend toward adharma.
Duryodhana recounts a well-known mythic episode: after the gods defeat the Daityas, Tārakāsura’s three sons perform fierce tapas, gain boons, become arrogant, and repeatedly drive the gods and their hosts from various places, roaming freely by their own will.