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,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

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

Translation

सर्वभूतमयं दृष्ट्वा तमजं जगतः प्रतिमम्—उग्रं तपः समास्थाय परमे नियमे स्थिता बभूवुः। श्रूयते च तदा देवैर्दैत्याः पराजिताः; दैत्येषु पराजितेषु तारकासुरस्य त्रयः पुत्रा उग्रतपः शरणं जग्मुः, श्रेष्ठान् नियमांश्च समाचरन्।

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.