Shloka 27
ऋषिसमागमः — युधिष्ठिरस्य शोकवर्णनम्
Sage Assembly and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Articulation of Grief
अस्माकं शमकामा वै त्वं च पुत्रो ममेत्यथ । पृथाया न कृत: कामस्तेन चापि महात्मना
asmākaṃ śamakāmā vai tvaṃ ca putro mamety atha | pṛthāyā na kṛtaḥ kāmas tena cāpi mahātmanā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Our mother Pṛthā (Kuntī), desiring reconciliation, went to him and said, ‘You too are my son.’ Yet that great-souled Karṇa did not fulfill Pṛthā’s wish.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between blood-relationship and chosen allegiance: even when a mother seeks peace by invoking kinship, a person may refuse if bound by prior commitments, showing how dharma can become conflicted and tragic in human life.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls that Kuntī (Pṛthā), wishing to prevent further hostility, approached Karṇa and revealed his maternity—calling him her son—yet Karṇa did not comply with her request for reconciliation.