Shloka 52

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

Devanagari script

।। सर्वभूतमयं दृष्टवा तमजं जगत: प्रतिम्‌

Transliteration

sarvabhūtamayaṁ dṛṣṭvā tam ajaṁ jagataḥ pratim, tapa ugraṁ samāsthāya niyame parame sthitāḥ |

Translation

ドゥルヨーダナは言った。「彼らは彼——不生の者、宇宙の写し身、あらゆる存在に遍満する御方——を拝し、激しい苦行を引き受け、最高の制戒の規律に堅くとどまった。われらは聞いている、その時、神々がダイティヤを打ち破ったと。ダイティヤが敗れたのち、ターラカースラの三人の子——ターラークシャ、カマラークシャ、ヴィデュンマーリー——は厳しい苦行に身を寄せ、すぐれた誓戒を守り始めた。」

Word by Word

• {'sarvabhūtamayaṁ': 'consisting of / pervading all beings', 'dṛṣṭvā': 'having seen, having beheld', 'tam': 'him

• that (supreme being referred to)', 'ajam': 'the Unborn (epithet of the supreme/divine)', 'jagataḥ': 'of the world, of the universe', 'pratim': 'image, counterpart, embodiment', 'tapaḥ (tapa)': 'austerity, ascetic heat, penance', 'ugram': 'fierce, intense', 'samāsthāya': 'having undertaken, having resorted to', 'niyame': 'in discipline, restraint, observance (niyama)', 'parame': 'supreme, highest', 'sthitāḥ': 'standing firm, abiding, steadfast'}

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duryodhana
• Devas
• Daityas
• Tārakāsura
• Tārākṣa
• Kamalākṣa
• Vidyunmālī

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the perceived potency of disciplined austerity (tapas) and strict observance (niyama): even those defeated in worldly power may seek a higher, transformative power through self-restraint and intense spiritual effort, especially after recognizing a cosmic, all-pervading divine reality.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana recounts a heard tradition: after the Devas defeated the Daityas, Tārakāsura’s three sons—Tārākṣa, Kamalākṣa, and Vidyunmālī—responded by undertaking fierce austerities and adhering to high disciplines, implying a strategic turn from military defeat to spiritual power-seeking.