Mahabharata — Karna Parva, Shloka 36
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
(निःस्थानाश्न कृता देवा ऋषय: पितृभि: सह । दैत्यैस्त्रिभिस्त्रयो लोका हााक्रान्तास्तै: सुरेतरैः ।।
niḥsthānāś ca kṛtā devā ṛṣayaḥ pitṛbhiḥ saha | daityais tribhis trayo lokā ākrāntās taiḥ suretaraiḥ || pīḍyamāneṣu lokeṣu tataḥ śakro marudvṛtaḥ | tapa ugraṃ samāsthāya niyame parame sthitaḥ ||
Duryodhana sprach: „Jene drei gottfeindlichen Daityas vertrieben die Götter, die Rishis und sogar die Pitṛs aus ihren angestammten Stellungen und machten sie schutzlos. Und nicht nur sie: Die Bewohner aller drei Welten wurden von jenen nichtgöttlichen Feinden niedergetreten. Als die Welten so bedrängt wurden, unterzog sich Indra, von den Maruts umgeben, grimmiger Askese und blieb standhaft in der höchsten Disziplin.“
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames a moral-political lesson through myth: when adharma violently displaces rightful order (gods, sages, ancestors), restoration is sought not merely by force but by disciplined resolve and tapas—steadfast commitment to the highest niyama as a means to regain stability and legitimacy.
Duryodhana cites an old cosmic episode: three Daityas oppressed the three worlds and drove Devas, Ṛṣis, and Pitṛs from their stations. In response, Indra (Śakra), attended by the Maruts, undertook intense austerity and strict discipline—setting up the background for how the gods eventually countered the Daityas.