Shloka 33
Tapovana-praveśaḥ — The King’s Entry into the Sacred Grove and Vision of the Āśrama
वीर्यवन्तो5वलिप्तास्ते नानारूपधरा महीम् । इमां सागरपर्यन्तां परीयुररिमर्दना:,स्वर्गसे इस लोकमें गिरे हुए तथा राजाओंके रूपमें उत्पन्न हुए कितने ही दैत्य और दानव अत्यन्त मदसे उन्मत्त रहते थे। वे पराक्रमी होनेके साथ ही अहंकारी भी थे। अनेक प्रकारके रूप धारण कर अपने शत्रुओंका मान-मर्दन करते हुए समुद्रपर्यज सारी पृथ्वीपर विचरते रहते थे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | vīryavanto 'valiptās te nānārūpadharā mahīm | imāṃ sāgaraparyantāṃ parīyur arimardanāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Those beings—mighty yet swollen with pride—assumed many forms and, as crushers of their foes, roamed over this earth bounded by the ocean. The passage underscores how sheer power, when joined to arrogance, turns into a force that disturbs the moral order and oppresses others.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical warning: valor and capability (vīrya) become destructive when coupled with arrogance (avalipta). Such pride-driven power leads to domination and disorder, implying that true strength should be governed by dharma and restraint.
The narrator describes powerful, prideful beings who can take many forms and who roam across the whole earth up to the ocean, subduing enemies. It sets a background of widespread, aggressive dominance by such forces, preparing the reader for the larger conflicts and restorations of order in the epic.