Shloka 25
Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity
Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27
एवं विलप्य बहुलं धर्मराजो युधिष्ठिर:,अभितो या: स्थितास्तत्र तस्मिन्नुदककर्मणि । राजन! इस प्रकार बहुत विलाप करके धर्मराज युधिष्ठिर फ़ूट-फूटकर रोने लगे। रोते- ही-रोते उन्होंने धीरे-धीरे कर्णके लिये जलदान किया। यह सब सुनकर वहाँ एकत्र हुई सारी स्त्रियाँ, जो वहाँ जलांजलि देनेके लिये सब ओर खड़ी थीं, सहसा जोर-जोरसे रोने लगीं
evaṃ vilapya bahulaṃ dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ, abhito yāḥ sthitās tatra tasminn udakakarmaṇi |
Having lamented at length, Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira broke down in grief during the rite of water-offering. As he proceeded with the udaka-karman, the women standing all around for the same funerary observance were moved at once and began to weep aloud.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when overwhelmed by sorrow, one must uphold dharma by completing the prescribed duties toward the dead (such as udaka-karman). The verse highlights ethical steadiness: grief is natural, yet responsibility and reverence for the departed remain binding.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira, after prolonged lamentation, performs the water-offering rite; seeing this, the women gathered around for the same ritual are overcome and begin to cry loudly, intensifying the atmosphere of communal mourning after the war.