Shloka 10
नाम वै वसुषेणेति कारयामास वै द्विजै: । माधव! उन्होंने मेरे जातकर्म आदि संस्कार करवाये तथा जनार्दन! उन्होंने ही पुत्रप्रेमवश शास्त्रीय विधिसे ब्राह्मणोंद्वारा मेरा “वसुषेण” नाम रखवाया ।। भार्याश्नोढा मम प्राप्ते यौवने तत्परिग्रहात्
nāma vai vasuṣeṇeti kārayāmāsa vai dvijaiḥ | mādhava! te me jātakarma-ādi-saṃskārān kārayāmāsuḥ tathā janārdana! te eva putra-premavaśāt śāstrīya-vidhinā brāhmaṇair mama “vasuṣeṇa” nāma sthāpayāmāsuḥ || bhāryāśnūḍhā mama prāpte yauvane tat-parigrahāt |
“My name, ‘Vasuṣeṇa,’ was formally bestowed by Brahmins. O Mādhava, they had my birth-rites and other sacraments performed; and O Janārdana, out of affection for me as a son, they themselves—following the scriptural rule through Brahmins—established the name ‘Vasuṣeṇa’ for me. And when I reached youth, I took a wife in due form.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma as lived through śāstric rites: identity and social legitimacy are shaped by saṃskāras (birth-rites, naming) performed according to scriptural procedure, and by the ethical force of parental affection that seeks to place a child within a recognized dharmic framework.
Karna speaks to Kṛṣṇa, recounting how his guardians arranged his Vedic sacraments and had Brahmins confer on him the name ‘Vasuṣeṇa’; he then notes that upon reaching youth he accepted a wife, continuing the expected life-course within social and ritual norms.