Shloka 2236
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
आक्रम्य तस्थुरूचुश्व कश्व नाम प्रजापति: । चाँदीका बना हुआ पुर कमलाक्षके और लोहेका विद्युन्मालीके अधिकारमें था। वे तीनों दैत्यराज अपने अस्त्रोंके तेजसे तीनों लोकोंको दबाकर रहते और कहते थे कि “प्रजापति कौन है?'
ākrāmya tasthur ūcuś ca kaś ca nāma prajāpatiḥ | cāṇḍīkā-baddhaṃ puraṃ kamalākṣake ca lohakaṃ vidyunmālike adhikāre āsīt | te trayo daityarājāḥ svāstratejasā trīn lokān abhibhūya tiṣṭhanti sma, ūcuś ca—“prajāpatiḥ kaḥ?”
Matapos lamunin at daigin ang mga kaaway, tumindig silang matatag at nagsalita nang mapagmataas at mapanlait: “At sino nga ba ang Prajāpati?” Ang tatlong lungsod—isa’y yari sa pilak, isa’y kumikislap na tila lotus, at ang ikatlo’y yari sa bakal—ay nasa kapangyarihan nina Kamalākṣa at Vidyunmālī. Ang tatlong haring-demonyo, lasing sa ningning ng kanilang mga sandata, ay pinapailalim sa bigat ng kanilang kapangyarihan ang tatlong daigdig at paulit-ulit na sumisigaw: “Sino ang Prajāpati?”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unchecked pride turns power into oppression: the demon-kings, dazzled by their own weapon-might, mock rightful cosmic authority (“Who is Prajāpati?”) and thereby reveal an adharma-driven mindset that burdens the worlds.
Duryodhana recounts (or cites) how three demon-kings, ruling three formidable cities, subdue the three worlds through the brilliance of their weapons and boastfully challenge the very idea of a supreme progenitor/overlord, dismissing Prajāpati with contempt.