Shloka 8
Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity
Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27
अर्जुनेन जित: संख्ये वीरलक्षणलक्षित: । यं सूतपुत्र॑ मन्यध्वं राधेयमिति पाण्डवा:
arjunena jitaḥ saṅkhye vīralakṣaṇalakṣitaḥ | yaṃ sūtaputraṃ manyadhvaṃ rādheyam iti pāṇḍavāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: In der Schlacht wurde er—gekennzeichnet durch die Zeichen eines wahren Helden—von Arjuna besiegt: eben jener, den ihr Pāṇḍavas für den Sohn eines Wagenlenkers gehalten hattet, bekannt als Rādheya (Karna). Die Zeile betont, wie der Krieg den Ruf umstürzt und wie Urteile nach Geburt im moralischen Abrechnen des Schlachtfeldes entlarvt werden.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of social labels in the face of lived action: the one dismissed as ‘sūtaputra’ is still ‘vīralakṣaṇalakṣita’—truly heroic—yet is brought down by destiny and the harsh arithmetic of war. It cautions against reducing a person to birth-status and points to the tragic moral complexity of battlefield outcomes.
Vaiśampāyana recalls that Rādheya (Karna), whom the Pāṇḍavas had long regarded as a charioteer’s son, was defeated by Arjuna in combat. In the Stree Parva’s aftermath setting, such recollections intensify grief and ethical reflection on the war’s cost.