Shloka 9
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
राजन! उनपर प्रसन्न होकर वरदायक भगवान् ब्रह्मा उन्हें वर देनेको उद्यत हुए। उस समय उन तीनोंने एक साथ होकर सम्पूर्ण लोकोंके पितामह ब्रह्मासे यह वर माँगा कि “हम सदा सम्पूर्ण भूतोंसे अवध्य हों” ।। तानब्रवीत्तदा देवो लोकानां प्रभुरी श्वर: । नास्ति सर्वामरत्वं वै निवर्तध्वमितो5सुरा:,निबोध मनसा चात्र न ते कार्या विचारणा । दुर्योधन बोला--मद्रराज! मैं पुन: आपसे जो कुछ कह रहा हूँ, उसे सुनिये। प्रभो! पूर्वकालमें देवासुर-संग्रामके अवसरपर जो घटना घटित हुई थी तथा जिसे महर्षि मार्कण्डेयने मेरे पिताजीको सुनाया था, वह सब मैं पूर्णरूपसे बता रहा हूँ। राजर्षिप्रवर! आप मन लगाकर इसे सुनिये, इसके विषयमें आपको कोई अन्यथा विचार नहीं करना चाहिये 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
rājan! tān prati prasannaḥ varadaḥ bhagavān brahmā tān vara-dāne udyataḥ. tadā te trayaḥ ekībhūya sarva-lokānāṃ pitāmahaṃ brahmāṇam idaṃ varam ayācuḥ—“vayaṃ sadā sarva-bhūtebhyo ’vadhyāḥ syāma.”
tān abravīt tadā devo lokānāṃ prabhur īśvaraḥ—“nāsti sarvāmṛtatvaṃ vai; nivartadhvam ito ’surāḥ. nibodha manasā cātra; na te kāryā vicāraṇā.”
duryodhana uvāca—“madrarājan! punar api yat kiñcid ahaṃ bravīmi tac chṛṇu. prabho! pūrva-kāle devāsura-saṅgrāme yā vṛttāntā jātaḥ, yaṃ ca maharṣi-mārkaṇḍeyena mama pituḥ kathitaḥ, tat sarvaṃ yathāvat te nivedayāmi. rājarṣi-pravara! manasā śṛṇu; atra te ’nyathā-vicāro na kartavyaḥ.
tapam ugraṃ samāsthāya niyame parame sthitāḥ. tadā devair daityāḥ parājitā iti naḥ śrutam. rājan! daityeṣu parājiteṣu tārakāsurasya trayaḥ putrāḥ—tārakṣaḥ kamalākṣaḥ vidyunmālī ca—ugra-tapasāṃ śaraṇaṃ gatvā uttamān niyamān anvatiṣṭhan.”
Duryodhana said: “O king of Madra, listen again to what I say. Long ago, when the gods and the demons fought, Brahmā—the gracious giver of boons—became pleased with those three and prepared to grant them a favor. United together, they asked the Grandfather of all worlds for this boon: ‘May we always be invulnerable to all beings.’ Then the Lord of the worlds replied: ‘Complete immortality for all is not possible. Turn back from this demand, O Asuras. Understand this with a steady mind; there is no need for further argument.’ This is the ancient account that the sage Mārkaṇḍeya once narrated to my father, and I now relate it fully to you. It is said that the gods defeated the Dāityas. After their defeat, Tārakāsura’s three sons—Tārakṣa, Kamalākṣa, and Vidyunmālī—took refuge in fierce austerity and observed the highest disciplines. The episode frames a moral boundary: even divine power does not overturn the cosmic order, and desire for absolute invulnerability must yield to the limits of dharma and reality.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the highest divine authority does not grant absolute, unconditional invulnerability; boons operate within the limits of cosmic order (dharma). The passage cautions against overreaching ambition and insists on accepting principled constraints.
Duryodhana recounts an ancient episode: after the gods defeat the Dāityas, Tārakāsura’s three sons perform severe austerities and seek a boon from Brahmā to be unslayable by all beings. Brahmā refuses the request for total immortality and tells them to desist, establishing that such a boon cannot be granted.