Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 26
Adhyāya 6: Kaṅka (Yudhiṣṭhira) Seeks Refuge in Virāṭa’s Assembly
“कमलदलके समान विशाल नेत्रोंवाली देवि! देवेश्वरि! मैं तुम्हारे चरणोंमें मस्तक रखकर प्रणाम करता हूँ। मेरी रक्षा करो। सत्ये! हमारे लिये वस्तुतः सत्यस्वरूपा बनो-- अपनी महिमाको सत्य कर दिखाओ ।।
kamaladalake samāna viśāla-netrāvalī devi! deveśvari! ahaṃ tava caraṇayoḥ mastakaṃ nidhāya praṇamāmi. māṃ rakṣa. satye! asmākaṃ kṛte vastutaḥ satya-svarūpā bhava—svāṃ mahimānaṃ satyaṃ kṛtvā darśaya. śaraṇaṃ bhava me durge śaraṇye bhakta-vatsale. evaṃ stutā hi sā devī darśayāmāsa pāṇḍavam.
毗湿摩波耶那说：“莲瓣般广目之女神啊！诸天之主啊！我以首伏于你足下而致敬礼。愿护佑我。真理啊！为我等之故，愿你确然成为真理之化身——使你的威德成其真实而显现。愿你作我的归依，噢杜尔迦——无依者之所依，怜爱信徒者。”如此赞颂之下，女神遂显现般度之子（般度五子）之一。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames devotion as an ethical act of surrender: one seeks refuge (śaraṇa) in the divine with humility, invoking truth (satya) and asking that divine power be made effective in lived reality—protection and guidance granted through grace to the devoted.
A speaker offers an intense hymn-like plea to the goddess Durgā—praising her lotus-like eyes and her love for devotees—and asks for protection and a truthful manifestation of her power. Pleased by the praise, the goddess responds by revealing a Pāṇḍava (making him appear/known).