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:,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

Transliteration

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

Translation

Duryodhana berkata: “Setelah menyambut mereka dengan ucapan restu yang membawa kesejahteraan dan memuliakan mereka sebagaimana patut, mereka pun dibangunkan. Lalu, dengan berlindung pada tapa yang dahsyat, mereka tetap teguh dalam disiplin tertinggi bagi ikrar-ikrar. Kami mendengar bahawa pada waktu itu para dewa menewaskan kaum Daitya. Wahai Raja! Apabila Daitya ditundukkan, tiga putera Tārakāsura—Tārakākṣa, Kamalākṣa, dan Vidyunmālī—memeluk pertapaan yang keras dan mula mematuhi pengekangan yang unggul.”

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.