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Shloka 423

ऋषिसमागमः — युधिष्ठिरस्य शोकवर्णनम्

Sage Assembly and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Articulation of Grief

कारणं नाधिगच्छामि कथंचिदपि चिन्तयन्‌ | मेरा विश्वास है कि कर्णके दोनों पैर माता कुन्तीके चरणोंके सदृश थे। कुन्ती और कर्णके पैरोंमें इतनी समानता क्यों है? इसका कारण ढूँढ़ता हुआ मैं बहुत सोचता-विचारता; परंतु किसी तरह कोई कारण नहीं समझ पाता था

kāraṇaṃ nādhigacchāmi kathaṃcid api cintayan |

Yudhiṣṭhira sagte: „So sehr ich auch auf jede erdenkliche Weise nachsinne, ich vermag den Grund nicht zu finden. Immer wieder dachte ich: ‘Karṇas beide Füße waren wie die Füße der Mutter Kuntī.’ Warum besteht eine so auffallende Ähnlichkeit zwischen Kuntīs und Karṇas Füßen? Ich sann lange darüber nach, doch ich konnte keinerlei Ursache begreifen.“

कारणम्cause, reason
कारणम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootकारण
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
not
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
अधिगच्छामिI find, I understand, I obtain
अधिगच्छामि:
TypeVerb
Rootअधि-गम्
FormPresent, First, Singular, Parasmaipada
कथंचित्somehow, by any means
कथंचित्:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootकथंचित्
अपिeven, also
अपि:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअपि
चिन्तयन्thinking, reflecting
चिन्तयन्:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootचिन्त्
Formशतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

युधिछिर उवाच

Y
Yudhiṣṭhira
K
Karna
K
Kuntī

Educational Q&A

The verse highlights the limits of inference based on outward signs and the moral weight of hidden kinship: even a perceptive, dharma-minded person may sense clues, yet without truthful disclosure the real cause remains concealed—showing how secrecy about origins can shape ethical understanding and later remorse.

Yudhiṣṭhira recalls an observation that Karna’s feet resembled Kuntī’s and admits that, despite much reflection, he could not explain it—an implicit foreshadowing of Karna’s true birth and the tragic consequences of not knowing (or not being told) the family truth.