Shloka 26
ऋषिसमागमः — युधिष्ठिरस्य शोकवर्णनम्
Sage Assembly and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Articulation of Grief
गता किल पृथा तस्य सकाशमिति न: श्रुतम्
gatā kila pṛthā tasya sakāśam iti naḥ śrutam | sandhiṃ kartum icchantī sā taṃ jagāda—“tvaṃ mama putraḥ” iti | kintu mahāmanāḥ karṇaḥ pṛthāyāḥ sāṃdhikām icchāṃ na pūrayām āsa ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “We have heard that Pṛthā (Kuntī) went to him (Karna), wishing to bring about reconciliation among us, and told him, ‘You are my son.’ Yet the high-minded Karna did not fulfill Mother Kuntī’s desire for peace.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between truth, kinship, and chosen loyalty: even when a mother reveals a hidden bond and seeks peace, a warrior may refuse if he believes his pledged allegiance and prior commitments must be upheld—showing how dharma can appear as competing duties rather than a single clear rule.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls a report that Kuntī went to Karna to prevent conflict by proposing reconciliation and revealing that he was her son; despite this, Karna did not accept her request to make peace, and the war-bound course remained unchanged.