Shloka 53

Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)

Devanagari script

तान्‌ स्वस्तिवादेनाभ्यर्च्य समुत्थाप्प च शडकर:

Transliteration

tān svastivādenābhyarcya samutthāpya ca ṣaḍ-akarāḥ, tapa ugraṃ samāsthāya niyame parame sthitāḥ |

Translation

Duryodhana sprach: „Nachdem man sie mit glückverheißenden Segensworten begrüßt und gebührend geehrt hatte, wurden sie aufgerichtet; und indem sie Zuflucht zu strenger Tapas nahmen, blieben sie standhaft in der höchsten Disziplin der Gelübde. Wir haben vernommen, dass damals die Götter die Daityas besiegten. O König! Als die Daityas überwunden waren, umarmten Tārakāsuras drei Söhne—Tārakākṣa, Kamalākṣa und Vidyunmālī—harte Buße und begannen, vortreffliche Zügelungen zu üben.“

Word by Word

• {'tān': 'them (accusative plural)', 'svastivāda': 'utterance of auspicious blessings

• benediction', 'abhyarcya': 'having honored, having worshipfully received', 'samutthāpya': 'having made (them) rise

• having raised up', 'tapaḥ / tapa': 'austerity, penance, ascetic heat', 'ugram': 'fierce, intense, severe', 'samāsthāya': 'having resorted to

• having undertaken', 'niyama': 'religious restraint

• vow', 'parame': 'supreme, highest', 'sthitāḥ': 'standing firm

• steadfast', 'devāḥ': 'the gods', 'daityāḥ': 'Daityas (a class of anti-gods/demons)', 'parājita': 'defeated, overcome', 'tārakāsura': 'Tārakāsura (a demon figure)', 'putrāḥ': 'sons', 'tārakākṣa': 'Tārakākṣa (name of a son of Tārakāsura)', 'kamalākṣa': 'Kamalākṣa (name of a son of Tārakāsura)', 'vidyunmālī': 'Vidyunmālī (name of a son of Tārakāsura)'}

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duryodhana
• Devas (gods)
• Daityas
• Tārakāsura
• Tārakākṣa
• Kamalākṣa
• Vidyunmālī

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights the perceived efficacy of disciplined austerity (tapas) and strict vows (niyama) as a means to recover strength and status after defeat. Ethically, it also suggests how narratives of ascetic power can be invoked to justify renewed ambition and the pursuit of power through extraordinary means.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana recounts a traditional account: the gods once defeated the Daityas; afterward, Tārakāsura’s three sons—Tārakākṣa, Kamalākṣa, and Vidyunmālī—undertook severe penance and maintained strict disciplines, implying a strategy of regaining power through ascetic practice.