Shloka 49
तपोविशेषैर्विविधैयोंगं यो वेद चात्मन: | यः सांख्यमात्मनो वेत्ति यस्य चात्मा वशे सदा,तप उग्र॑ समास्थाय नियमे परमे स्थिता: । उस समय देवताओंने दैत्योंको परास्त कर दिया था, यह हमारे सुननेमें आया है। राजन! दैत्योंके परास्त हो जानेपर तारकासुरके तीन पुत्र ताराक्ष, कमलाक्ष और विद्युन्माली उग्र तपस्याका आश्रय ले उत्तम नियमोंका पालन करने लगे जो नाना प्रकारकी विशेष तपस्याओंद्वारा मनकी सम्पूर्ण वृत्तियोंके निरोधका उपाय जानते हैं, जिन्हें अपनी ज्ञानस्वरूपताका बोध नित्य बना रहता है, जिनका अन्त:ः:करण सदा अपने वशमें रहता है, जगत्में जिनकी कहीं भी तुलना नहीं है, उन निष्पाप, तेजोराशि, महेश्वर भगवान् उमापतिका उन देवताओंने दर्शन किया
tapo-viśeṣair vividhair yogaṃ yo veda cātmanaḥ | yaḥ sāṅkhyam ātmano vetti yasya cātmā vaśe sadā ||
Duryodhana said: “He who, by many kinds of distinctive austerities, knows the discipline of yoga as it pertains to the self; he who understands Sāṅkhya as it pertains to the self; and he whose inner self is always under control—such a one is established in fierce austerity and in the highest restraints. We have heard that, at that time, the gods defeated the Dānavas. After the Dānavas were overcome, Tārakāsura’s three sons—Tārākṣa, Kamalākṣa, and Vidyunmālī—took refuge in severe penance and began to observe excellent vows. Knowing the means to restrain all the mind’s movements through varied austerities, ever awake to the knowledge of their own true nature, and keeping their inner faculties mastered, they became incomparable in the world. Those sinless, radiant ascetics were then beheld by the gods in the form of Mahādeva, the Lord of Umā.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises inner mastery: true power and clarity arise from disciplined austerity (tapas), restraint (niyama), and knowledge—both yogic control of mental fluctuations and sāṅkhya-like discriminative understanding of the self. Ethical strength is framed as self-governance rather than mere external dominance.
Duryodhana recounts a mythic episode: after the gods defeat the Daityas/Danavas, Tārakāsura’s three sons undertake severe penance and strict vows, becoming formidable through self-control and spiritual knowledge; the gods then behold Mahādeva (Śiva), Umā’s lord, in connection with this ascetic rise.