ऋषयोऽप्युग्रतपसो दैवेनाभिप्रपीडिताः।
उत्सृज्य नियमांस्तीव्रान्भ्रश्यन्ते काममन्युभिः॥
ṛṣayo ’py ugra-tapaso daivenābhiprapīḍitāḥ
utsṛjya niyamāṁs tīvrān bhraśyante kāma-manyubhiḥ
ṛṣayaḥ = sages; api = even; ugra-tapasaḥ = of fierce austerities like Viśvāmitra; daivena = by providence; abhiprapīḍitāḥ = have been overwhelmingly tormented; utsṛjya = as a result, they abandoned and; niyamān = their vows of fasting and so on; tīvrān = intense; bhraśyante = fell down from their sagely position; kāma-manyubhiḥ = because of lust and anger.
Even sages of fierce austerities like Viśvāmitra have been overwhelmingly tormented by providence. As a result, they abandoned their intense vows of fasting and so on, and fell down from their sagely positions because of lust and anger.
He now firmly establishes the great strength of providence. Kāma-manyubhiḥ indicates that several persons [have thus fallen from grace].