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

Duryodhana nói: “Chiêm bái Ngài—Đấng Vô Sinh, hình ảnh của vũ trụ, thấm nhuần trong mọi loài—họ nhận lấy khổ hạnh dữ dội và kiên định trong kỷ luật tối thượng của sự chế ngự. Chúng ta nghe rằng vào thời ấy chư thiên đã đánh bại các Daitya; và khi Daitya bị khuất phục, ba con trai của Tārakāsura—Tārākṣa, Kamalākṣa và Vidyunmālī—nương tựa vào sự tu khổ hạnh nghiêm khắc và bắt đầu giữ những thệ nguyện thù thắng.”

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.