Shloka 144

Kuntī–Karṇa Saṃvāda: Lineage Disclosure and Appeal to Fraternal Dharma

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि भगवद्यानपर्वणि कुन्तीकर्णसमागमे चतुश्चत्वारिंशदाधिकशततमो< ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi bhagavadyānaparvaṇi kuntīkarṇasamāgame catuścatvāriṃśad-adhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |

Translation

So endet im Śrī Mahābhārata, innerhalb des Udyoga Parva —insbesondere im Abschnitt Bhagavad-yāna über die Friedensmission des Herrn— das hundertvierundvierzigste Kapitel, das die Begegnung zwischen Kuntī und Karṇa schildert. Das Kolophon beschließt eine moralisch hoch aufgeladene Szene, in der mütterliche Pflicht, persönliche Identität und die Forderungen des Krieges unter dem Schatten eines gescheiterten Friedensversuchs zusammenlaufen.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'iti', 'definition': 'thus

• an end-marker indicating conclusion'}, {'term': 'śrīmahābhārate', 'definition': 'in the Śrī Mahābhārata (locative singular)'}, {'term': 'udyogaparvaṇi', 'definition': 'in the Udyoga Parva

• the Book of Effort/Preparation (locative singular)'}, {'term': 'bhagavadyānaparvaṇi', 'definition': 'in the Bhagavad-yāna section

• the Lord’s journey/embassy for peace (locative singular)'}, {'term': 'kuntī', 'definition': 'Kuntī

• mother of the Pāṇḍavas'}, {'term': 'karṇa', 'definition': 'Karṇa

• son of Kuntī, ally of the Kauravas'}, {'term': 'samāgama', 'definition': 'meeting

• coming together'}, {'term': 'catuścatvāriṃśad-adhikaśatatamaḥ', 'definition': 'one hundred and forty-fourth (144th)'}, {'term': 'adhyāyaḥ', 'definition': 'chapter'}]

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Udyoga Parva
• Bhagavad-yāna Parva
• Kuntī
• Karṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a chapter-ending colophon points to the ethical center of the episode: kinship and truth confront political loyalty and impending war. The Kuntī–Karṇa meeting foregrounds dharma as a conflict of duties—maternal responsibility, personal honor, and allegiance—set against the broader attempt to avert catastrophe through peace-making.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is the closing colophon of the chapter that narrates Kuntī’s meeting with Karṇa during the Udyoga Parva, within the Bhagavad-yāna (peace-embassy) context. It signals the completion of the episode and situates it within the larger arc of negotiations failing as war approaches.