Shloka 5
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १४० (कृष्णेन कर्णं प्रति पाण्डवबल-वैशिष्ट्यप्रदर्शनम्) / Udyoga Parva, Chapter 140
Krishna’s appraisal of Pandava advantage and war portents
सूतो हि मामधिरथो दृष्टवैवा भ्यानयद् गृहान् । राधायाश्रैव मां प्रादात् सौहार्दान्मधुसूदन
sūto hi mām adhiratho dṛṣṭvaivābhyānayad gṛhān | rādhāyāś caiva māṃ prādāt sauhārdān madhusūdana ||
Karna said: “Adhiratha the charioteer, seeing me, took me at once into his home. And out of affection, O Madhusūdana, he entrusted me to Rādhā as her own.”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of nurture and affection: Karna grounds his identity and obligations not merely in birth but in the care he received—Adhiratha’s rescue and Rādhā’s motherhood. It highlights gratitude and loyalty as moral forces shaping one’s sense of duty.
Karna recounts his early life to Kṛṣṇa (addressed as Madhusūdana): the charioteer Adhiratha found him, brought him home, and, moved by affection, entrusted him to Rādhā to be raised as her son—explaining Karna’s deep attachment to his foster family and social identity.