Shloka 7
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
युद्धके बाद जब मैं अपने मृत सम्बन्धियोंको जलाञज्जलि दे रहा था उस समय मेरी माता कुन्तीने कहा था--“बेटा! कर्णको भी जलाञ्जलि देना।” माताकी यह बात सुनकर मुझे मालूम हुआ कि महात्मा कर्ण मेरे ही भाई थे। तबसे मुझे उनके लिये बड़ा दुःख होता है ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
yuddhake bāda jaba maiṃ apane mṛta sambandhiyoṃ ko jalāñjali de rahā thā usa samaya merī mātā kuntī ne kahā thā— “beṭā! karṇa ko bhī jalāñjali denā।” mātā kī yaha bāta sunkara mujhe mālūm huā ki mahātmā karṇa mere hī bhāī the। tabse mujhe unke liye baṛā duḥkha hotā hai॥
idaṃ ca paritapyāmi punaḥ punar ahaṃ surāḥ |
yan mātuḥ sadṛśau pādau tasyāham amitātmanaḥ |
devatāo! yaha socakara to maiṃ aura bhī paścāttāpa kartā rahtā hūṃ ki “mahāmanā karṇa ke donoṃ caraṇoṃ ko mātā kuntī ke caraṇoṃ ke samān dekhkar bhī maiṃ kyoṃ nahīṃ śatrudala-mardana karṇa kā anugāmī ho gayā?” yadi karṇa hamāre sātha hote to hameṃ indra bhī yuddha meṃ parāsta nahīṃ kara sakte।
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: Nach dem Krieg, als ich den gefallenen Verwandten die Wasserlibation darbrachte, sagte meine Mutter Kuntī zu mir: „Mein Sohn, bringe die Libation auch Karṇa dar.“ Als ich dies hörte, erkannte ich, dass Karṇa, der Großgesinnte, mein eigener Bruder war. Von jenem Augenblick an lastet tiefe Trauer um ihn auf mir. Und, o Götter, immer wieder verzehrt mich die Reue bei diesem Gedanken: Obwohl ich sah, dass die Füße jenes Edlen, dessen Seele unermeßlich war, den Füßen meiner Mutter Kuntī glichen—warum wurde ich nicht ein Gefolgsmann Karṇas, des Zermalmers feindlicher Heerscharen? Hätte Karṇa an unserer Seite gestanden, nicht einmal Indra hätte uns im Kampf besiegen können.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of hidden kinship and the lasting consequences of ignorance and delayed truth. Yudhiṣṭhira’s remorse shows how dharma is not only about victory or duty in war, but also about responsibility toward family, truthful disclosure, and the inner reckoning that follows violence.
After the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira performs funerary water-offerings for the dead. Kuntī instructs him to offer for Karṇa too, revealing that Karṇa was his brother. Yudhiṣṭhira then laments repeatedly, wondering why he did not align with Karṇa, and asserts that with Karṇa on their side even Indra would not have been able to defeat them.