Shloka 72
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
आयसयुस्तपसा युक्ता महाक्रोधा महाबला: । एते चान्ये च बहवस्तत्र नागा व्यवस्थिता:,कर्कोटक सर्प तथा वासुकि नाग, कश्यप और कुण्ड, महानाग और तक्षक--ये तथा और भी बहुत-से महाबली, महाक्रोधी और तपस्वी नाग वहाँ आकर खड़े थे
āyasayus tapasa yuktā mahākrodhā mahābalāḥ | ete cānye ca bahavas tatra nāgā vyavasthitāḥ | karkoṭakaḥ sarpas tathā vāsuki-nāgaḥ kaśyapaḥ kuṇḍaḥ mahānāgaś ca takṣakaḥ—ete tathā anye'pi bahavo mahābalino mahākrodhinas tapasyino nāgāḥ tatra āgatya tiṣṭhanti |
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Pinagkalooban ng mahabang buhay at pinatibay ng tapas, mabagsik sa poot at dakila sa lakas—ang mga Nāga na ito, at marami pang iba, ay nagkatipon at tumindig doon.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes tapas (disciplined ascetic power) with mahākrodha (great wrath), suggesting that spiritual potency and moral temperament can coexist in tension; power becomes ethically charged when anger is uncontrolled.
A large group of Nāgas gathers and stands assembled at a particular place in the story; prominent serpent-lords such as Karkoṭaka, Vāsuki, Mahānāga, and Takṣaka are named among many others.